Hotels near Sugarloaf Mountain

Sugarloaf Mountain, or Pao de Acucar, is a 396-metre granite plug at the mouth of Guanabara Bay. You reach it in two cable car stages from Praia Vermelha in Urca: first to Morro da Urca at 220 metres, then across to the main summit. The original line opened in 1912 and was the third aerial cableway built anywhere in the world. Cars leave every 20 minutes or so and the full ride takes under 10 minutes.

A return ticket costs around R$ 190 (about 30 EUR), with lower rates for Brazilian residents. Morro da Urca has a cafe, a small stage and a bar; the upper summit has decks facing Copacabana on one side and the bay on the other. Fit walkers can take the marked trail up to Morro da Urca for free and buy a single-stage ticket for the second leg, which cuts the cost roughly in half. Allow two hours.

Pro Tip: Go up about 90 minutes before sunset. You get the bay in daylight, the sun setting behind Corcovado, and the city lit up on the way down, all on one ticket. The last car leaves the summit at 21:00, so do not cut it fine.