Don't you think this looks like a whale?
A cable journey not recommended for anyone who suffers from vertigo!
Some people travel the expensive way!
Below the mountain lies the very pleasant neighbourhood of Urca
You can see ocean beaches on the left (Praia Vermelha and Copacabana) and the bay beach of Botofogo on the right.--
Rearing its head over the bay stands a huge volcanic plug. The rock looks to me like some immense whale out of a bad science fiction story: but to others it has the shape of the locally popular sugar loaf. To clamber up the side of the whale, you would need to be a skilled mountaineer. So we took the tourist route, the cable car. But even this is not straightforward. The first cable takes you up to a nearby peak. This is already pretty high and has a heliport, snack bar and lengthy promenade around which you can walk to view the sights of Rio. You used to be able to wander around the gardens here, but now a raised walkway ensures that they remain untouched by tourist boots.
A second cable takes you up and up until you reach the top of the Sugar Loaf. From here you can see spectacular views of the ocean beaches (especially Copacabana) and all the beaches around the bay (Urca, Botofogo, Flamengo and those on the other side of the bay – Icarai, São Francisco (we could see our apartment block through binoculars), Adam and Eve. You could also view most of the city of Rio although photographs from here cannot capture the sheer scale of the panorama.
Descent confirms an interesting optical illusion. As you travel up in a cable car, another one coming down appears to be travelling fast whilst you are labouring under the weight of passengers (up to 70 in a car). But on the way down, the car coming up appears to be travelling at high velocity whilst you are making a careful descent. Perhaps it is an effect from an imagined science fiction story that features a huge whale!
Rearing its head over the bay stands a huge volcanic plug. The rock looks to me like some immense whale out of a bad science fiction story: but to others it has the shape of the locally popular sugar loaf. To clamber up the side of the whale, you would need to be a skilled mountaineer. So we took the tourist route, the cable car. But even this is not straightforward. The first cable takes you up to a nearby peak. This is already pretty high and has a heliport, snack bar and lengthy promenade around which you can walk to view the sights of Rio. You used to be able to wander around the gardens here, but now a raised walkway ensures that they remain untouched by tourist boots.
A second cable takes you up and up until you reach the top of the Sugar Loaf. From here you can see spectacular views of the ocean beaches (especially Copacabana) and all the beaches around the bay (Urca, Botofogo, Flamengo and those on the other side of the bay – Icarai, São Francisco (we could see our apartment block through binoculars), Adam and Eve. You could also view most of the city of Rio although photographs from here cannot capture the sheer scale of the panorama.
Descent confirms an interesting optical illusion. As you travel up in a cable car, another one coming down appears to be travelling fast whilst you are labouring under the weight of passengers (up to 70 in a car). But on the way down, the car coming up appears to be travelling at high velocity whilst you are making a careful descent. Perhaps it is an effect from an imagined science fiction story that features a huge whale!
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