Sugar Loaf,
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Brazil
Sugar LoafVisited: January 2005 and several times before More pictures of Sugar Loaf:
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There are many mountain tops in the world called Sugar Loaf, but the most famous must be the one in Rio de Janeiro. The city is surrounded by granite rocks sticking out into the sky, and one of those rocks is Sugar Loaf. The difference with the other peaks is, that Sugar Loaf, or Pão de Açúcar, is situated right on the shore. This means, that it seems to be an integral part of the city skyline - as long as you are in the Copacabana or Gloria neighbourhoods, or across the Guanabara bay.
The mountain is a challenge for climbers, but already at the beginning of the 20th century, the Cariocas realized that anyone would like to enjoy the view from the top of the Sugar Loaf. A cable car was built, which was renewed in 1972. Obviously, it only makes sense to go up the mountain on a clear day. You can only go up in two stages, first to Urca peak, where you already have a good view of the city, and from there, another cable car takes you all the way up to Sugar Loaf itself.
While I was walking down Copacabana boulevard, I saw small clouds around the summit of Sugar Loaf, and huge clouds started to build above the mountains behind the city. Still, I wanted to take my chances to go up Sugar Loaf. The views from Urca were good, and the Sugar Loaf peak every now and then was covered in a small cloud. Our cable car went through a cloud before reaching the top. I spent hours at the top, having spectacular views over the city, but also mysterious clouds seemed to come from the sea below. Unfortunately, around sunset serious clouds covered the skies over Rio de Janeiro and I didn't get to see the city lights being lit.
