Sugar Loaf Rio de janeiro in Brazil

 Sugar Loaf, Rio de   Janeiro

Sugar Loaf, Rio de Janeiro

The easily recognized emblem of Rio de Janeiro, the rounded rock peak of Sugar Loaf juts out of a tree-covered promontory, rising 394 meters above the beaches and city. 

Its summit is one of the first places to visit for tourists, for views of Rio and the harbor, and for the thrill of riding suspended in a cable car between Sugar Loaf and the Morro da Urca, a lower peak from which a second cableway connects to the city.

Rio's first settlement began below these peaks, near the long Praia da Urca beach, and you can tour one of the three early forts there, the star-shaped Fort São João.

Sugar Loaf, Portuguese Pão de Açúcar, landmark peak overlooking Rio de Janeiro and the entrance of Guanabara Bay, in southeastern Brazil. Named for its shape, the conical, granitic peak (1,296 feet [395 metres]) lies at the end of a short range between Rio de Janeiro and the Atlantic Ocean. At its base is the fortress of São João. A cable car runs from its summit to the adjacent Urca Hill, near the foot of which is the site of the Praia Vermelha Campus of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.