The sitting dog
100-metre rock.
Famacruz — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Felipedrakongeek — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Felipedrakongeek — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Felipedrakongeek — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Felipedrakongeek — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Felipedrakongeek — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Edson S. Moreira — CC BY-SA 3.0
The Pedra do Cão Sentado, the «Rock of the Sitting Dog», is a natural monument regarded as a symbol of Nova Friburgo. It is the best-known rock formation in the Furnas do Catete park on the road from Nova Friburgo to Bom Jardim, a wide area rising to about 1,111 metres where caves and stacked boulders form striking shapes. The rock looks like a seated guard dog and is about a hundred metres high, shaped over time by erosion. The park opened in 1962; in 1993 climbers stepped in to save the «dog's head» after a tree root growing at its neck threatened to topple it, and since 2003 it has been run privately in partnership with the state and municipal governments. Visitors walk about a kilometre, crossing twelve bridges and wooden stairways with handrails, to reach the top: an easy walk of about forty minutes that needs no guide. Along the way are caves and formations with names such as the Jaguar's Den, the Cigar Peak and the Ship's Keel, and a lake by the entrance has a snack kiosk.
100-metre rock.
Easy walk.
Odd formations.
RJ-116 between Nova Friburgo and Bom Jardim, Rio de Janeiro state
No, the trail is signposted and easy to follow.