The bay's mouth
Sugarloaf.
Guanabara Bay is an ocean bay in Rio de Janeiro state, with Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias on its western shore and Niterói and São Gonçalo on its eastern shore. It is Brazil's second-largest bay after the Bay of All Saints, covering 384 square kilometres, 31 kilometres long and up to 28 kilometres wide, and its narrow mouth, a kilometre and a half across, is guarded by Sugarloaf Mountain to the west and the Pico do Papagaio to the east. Its name comes from the Tupi language, glossed as «hidden water» or «bosom of the sea». Portuguese explorers reached it on 1 January 1502 and called the place «Rio de Janeiro», «River of January»; they probably knew it was a bay, but «rio» was then used for various bodies of water. In 1555 the French tried to found a colony on its islands. More than 130 islands dot the bay, among them Governador Island, home to the international airport, car-free Paquetá and Ilha Fiscal with its green palace. The Rio–Niterói Bridge crosses it, and regular ferries run between Rio, Niterói and Paquetá, the loveliest way to see the bay and the city skyline from the water, alongside the famous viewpoints.
Sugarloaf.
To Niterói and Paquetá.
More than 130.
Between Rio de Janeiro and Niterói, Rio de Janeiro state
The Rio–Niterói ferry, or viewpoints such as Sugarloaf.