The view
Ipanema and Copacabana together.
Matthias Bethke — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sailko — CC BY 3.0 · CARES BOHORQUEZ — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Viviane Marques dos Reis — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Chensiyuan — CC BY-SA 3.0
The «Two Brothers» are twin rock peaks at the end of Leblon beach, in the background of most photos taken from Ipanema. The higher summit stands at 533 metres, taller than Sugarloaf and lower than Corcovado, and a trail of about one and a half kilometres reaches it in roughly fifty minutes. The trail starts at the top of the Vidigal community, and walkers usually ride up from the bottom of the hill in a minivan or on a motorbike taxi to the football pitch where the dirt path begins. It is short but steep in places, through forest where marmosets live. From the top comes one of the finest views in the city: the beaches of Leblon, Ipanema and Copacabana, the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon, Christ the Redeemer, and Rocinha and São Conrado on the other side. A municipal nature park was set up around the hill in 1992, and Chico Buarque wrote a song named after it. Going with a local guide from Vidigal is recommended, and arriving an hour before sunset catches the light on the beaches.
Ipanema and Copacabana together.
Where the trail starts.
Light on the beaches.
Trailhead at the top of Vidigal, Rio de Janeiro
At the football pitch at the top of Vidigal, reached by minivan or motorbike taxi from the bottom of the hill, then about fifty minutes on foot.