After a whirlwind road trip around southern Brazil, I finally made it to the final city on my Brazilian adventure, Rio de Janeiro! Come with me as I explore Brazil’s most famous man-made attraction, Christ the Redeemer, one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, in Rio de Janeiro!
After flying from Porto Alegre to Rio de Janeiro, my friends Guilherme and Rafa at Rio4Fun and Rio4Food and I hit the ground running! Christ the Redeemer is a massive statue of Jesus Christ that overlooks Rio from atop Corcovado Mountain. It was built between 1922 and 1931 and stands 98 feet tall, and was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.
Christ the Redeemer would be the fifth of the New Seven Wonders of the World I’ve visited, after the Colosseum, Petra, the Great Wall of China, and the Taj Mahal. The weather was perfect for visiting the landmark, so we jumped at the chance!
There are several ways to get to the top, including by taking a train, biking, hiking, climbing, and taking a van. But before we got there, we followed the road through Tijuca Forest up the mountain. It’s the third-largest urban rainforest in the world!
The forest is home to monkeys, sloths, toucans, snakes, and more! From the road, you get glimpses of the road, which are beautiful! Then, we made it to the reception where you buy your tickets and take a van the rest of the way. There’s also a restaurant where we grabbed some coffee.
Our tickets came to R$105, or about $20 USD. After taking the van up, we took the stairs up. There’s a shop up there where you can buy Christ the Redeemer statues made from the same soapstone as the statue itself. They have big and small ones! The big one cost roughly $40 USD! You can also buy hats and T-shirts.
Further on is Bar e Restaurante Corcovado, a traditional restaurant in the shadow of Christ the Redeemer. They sell decent food, including grilled cheese sandwiches and mango juice. It’s about 2,200 feet above sea level, and their terrace offers an incredible view of the city and ocean below!
Guilherme and I ordered grilled cheese sandwiches, and I had a Praya beer, which is a Witbier and contains 5.3% alcohol and Indian spices. It was light and perfect for the hot weather! It was only 9:30am, but it was smoking hot!
The sandwich was made with gooey yellow cheese. It had been a while since I’d had one and it was really good!
If you have time, you can go on a helicopter tour over Rio de Janeiro. After eating, we took the escalator up to the statue, which opens at 7:40am. The statue is a massive tourist attraction, so it’s usually packed there, especially during the high season! I recommend visiting as soon as it opens to beat the crowds.
The 360-degree view is unreal! You can see all of the city from there, from the airport to the soccer stadium to the beaches.
The only downside is that you have to fight the crowds to get a photo! The best time to come is during the off-season right after Easter!
What an incredible experience visiting Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil! It’s easily one of the top things to do in all of Brazil and is just one of countless unique experiences you can have in Rio. Huge thanks to Guilherme and Rafa for taking me, and to our friends at the Yoo2 Rio de Janeiro by Intercity for hosting us during our time in the city. It’s the best hotel to stay at in Rio de Janeiro!
I hope you liked coming with us to Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil! If you did, please give this video a thumbs up and leave a comment below. Also, please subscribe to my YouTube channel and click the notification bell so you don’t miss any of my travel/food adventures around the world!
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