Climbing Corcovado (Jan´12)

Corcovado mountain commands the heart of Rio, surrounded by the Tijuca rainforest and crowned by the iconic Christ the Reedemer statue. The trail up the mountain starts across the street from our apartment  (in Parque Lage) and it was only a matter of time before an ascent was attempted. Why? - ¨because it is there¨...

A 706m vertical ascent requires an energy drink, in this case Acia. Made from a Brazilian super-fruit, a purple berry that is grown in the Amazon rainforest, it is packed with natural sugar and just the ticket for today...


















As the trail entered the rainforest we quickly left the noise of Rio behind admidst the cool of the overhanging canopy, only catching the occasional glimpse through the foliage of our apartment in Zona Sul below...













As we continued the trek we encountered some of the forest´s residents...

The trail steepened as we neared the Corcovado ridge, and parts required serious scrambling / hanging onto chains..

Eventually we reached the crest of the mountain, where we could follow the cog train that was taking 99.999% of the visitors up the mountain.

 It was at this point that forest opened and we could take in the truly breathtaking views of Zona Sul, including the Atlantic ocean, Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, Ipanema, Leblon, and of course Jardim Botanico and Parque Lage where we started our trek.

As we reached the top of Corcovado we were able to stand with satisfaction at the feet of Christo and take in the panaoramic views.

Mission accomplished...


Rob & Bob