Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1
TOURS IN PARQUE NACIONAL DA TIJUCA
Most of the
Parque da Tijuca
tours offered by hotels and travel agents involve nothing more
strenuous than a short walk along a paved road, but more personal - and infinitely more
rewarding - are the tours run by
Rio Hiking (
T
21 2552 9204 or
T
21 99721 0594,
W
riohiking.
com.br), which take small groups of people on half- or full-day hikes along the park's many
trails. Operating at weekends and on some weekdays, too, the tours are led by Denise Werneck
and her son Gabriel, both of whom speak excellent English and are extremely knowledgeable
about the park's biodiversity. The same firm also runs tours to Ilha Grande
(see p.125) and Parque Nacional do Itatiaia (see p.123).
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interspersed with lagoons and nature parks. All of these areas will become a whole lot
more accessible when construction of
metrô linha 4
is complete.
Rocinha
On the slopes between the Tijuca mountains and the peak of Pedra dos Dois Irmãos
sits
Favela Rocinha
, misleadingly picturesque as it glistens in the sun. The largest
favela
in Rio, it's also the oldest, dating back to the 1930s, and swelled in the 1950s with the
arrival of migrants from Brazil's northeastern states. Around 200,000 people live here
today, and it's still growing. Some local residents have decent jobs and quite large
houses, but many families here subsist on a salary of just R$300 a month or less.
Rocinha is visited by some of the popular
favela
tours (see box below), and it isn't
otherwise advisable to just come in and wander around on your own.
Parque Nacional da Tijuca
Daily 8am-5pm • Free •
T
21 99691 3877,
W
parquedatijuca.com.br
Looking up from the streets of Zona Sul, you'll see that the mountains running
FAVELA TOURS
Wandering into a
favela
does not, as many middle-class
cariocas
would have you believe,
guarantee being robbed or murdered.
Law and order
is essentially in the hands of the drug
gangs, but it's simply not in their interest to create trouble for visitors, as this would only attract
the attention of the police who normally stay clear of
favelas
. Alone, you're liable to get lost and,
as in any isolated spot, may run into opportunistic thieves, but if accompanied by a
favela
resident you'll be perfectly safe and received with friendly curiosity. For the majority of people,
however, the best option is to take a
tour
, with the most insightful and longest-established run
by
Marcelo Armstrong
. Marcelo, who speaks excellent English, is widely known and
respected in the
favelas
that are visited and has made a point of getting community approval. It
is strongly advised to make your own arrangements with Marcelo rather than through a travel
agent or hotel front desk, where you may end up with an inferior tour and be charged too much -
some operators treat the
favelas
rather as they might an African game park, ferrying groups in
open-topped camouflaged jeeps. But if you're worried about voyeurism, you shouldn't be:
residents want outsiders to understand that
favelas
are not in fact terrifying and lawless ghettos,
but inhabited by people as decent as anywhere else, eager to improve the local quality of life.
Marcelo's highly responsible tours usually take in two
favelas
:
Rocinha
(see above), and
Vila
Canoas
, which is much smaller, with some 3000 residents. Twice a day (9am & 2pm; R$75, part
of which is donated to community projects in the
favelas
), tourists are picked up from their
hotels or pre-arranged spots in the Zona Sul for the three-hour tour, which stops at lookout
points, a day-care centre, a bar and other places of interest. Marcelo offers a fascinating
commentary, pointing out the achievements of
favelas
and their inhabitants without
romanticizing their lives. To reserve a place on a tour, call Marcelo on
T
21 3322 2727,
T
21 99989 0074 or
T
21 99772 1133, or for more information, check out
W
favelatour.com.br.
Another responsible operator,
Favela Adventures
(
T
21 8221 5572,
W
favelatour.org), offers
a variety of tours of Rocinha, including opportunities to party with the locals.
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