The glass cable car
Two legs with a view all round.
Arne Müseler — CC BY-SA 3.0 de · CivArmy — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wilfredor — CC0 · Donatas Dabravolskas — CC BY-SA 4.0
Sugarloaf Mountain, Pão de Açúcar in Portuguese, is a granite peak that rises 396 metres straight out of the water at the mouth of Guanabara Bay, and one of the great symbols of Rio. The Portuguese named it in the 16th century because its shape recalled the conical moulds in which sugar was shipped, and it is part of the World Heritage Site UNESCO listed in 2012 for Rio's landscapes between the mountain and the sea. The way up is a cable car opened in 1912, the first in Brazil and the third of its kind in the world. Glass cars holding 65 people run from the Praia Vermelha station to Urca Hill, 220 metres up, and from there to the top of Sugarloaf, each leg about three minutes with a view all round. From the summit you see Guanabara Bay, Copacabana, Corcovado and the whole city. Sunset is the busiest and loveliest time, so book ahead and go up an hour before. You can break the trip at Urca Hill, which has restaurants, cafés and walking paths.
Two legs with a view all round.
From 396 metres up.
A halfway stop with paths.
Cable car station, Praia Vermelha, Urca
R$205 return for foreign visitors in 2026, covering both legs to Urca Hill and the summit. Book ahead for sunset.