Everything You Need to Know to Visit Sugarloaf Mountain in 2023
Last Updated: April 14, 2024
If you’re visiting Rio de Janeiro, you’re likely thinking about visiting Sugarloaf Mountain and taking the cable car. But you may be wondering – is the cable car worth it? Can I hike up Sugarloaf Mountain? How much does it cost? We’ve got you covered with all the details of one of our favorite attractions in Rio. Here is our play by play guide for everything you need to know to visit Sugarloaf Mountain, one of Rio’s top things to do.
Is the Sugarloaf Cable Car Worth It?
We think yes! The cable car (“bondinho” in Portuguese) is a fun, unique way to get around, and the panoramic views from the top of Sugarloaf are incredible. While some might be tempted to scorn ultra-touristy attractions like Sugarloaf, we found that this site was absolutely worth the hype. You don’t want to miss it. As you look out from Sugarloaf Mountain over the city of Rio, you’ll see immediately why Rio was named “Cidade Maravilhosa” (“Marvelous City”).
How to Get to the Top of Sugarloaf Mountain: 2 Options
There are two main options to get to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain.
The first option is to go for a short 45 minute hike up Morro da Urca, and then take a cable car for the last half of the ascent up Sugarloaf Mountain, at a discounted rate. If you enjoy the outdoors and a bit of walking, this is a great option.
The second option is to take a cable car the entire way up, from the base at the the beach Praia Vermelha, all the way up to Sugarloaf Mountain. The base cable car station is called “Teleférico Pão de Açúcar.” You take one cable car up Morro da Urca, and then take a different cable car up Sugarloaf.
It is slightly more expensive to take a cable car the whole way. While the ascent is quicker this way, the line for tickets at the base station looked pretty long when we walked past at 8:30am. So you might not save much time in total by taking the cable car up, unless you get there really early.
We found these two options a bit confusing while trying to research online beforehand. If you opt for the hiking route up Morro da Urca like us, you do not miss out on the cable car experience. You can choose to hike up Morro da Urca AND still take a cable car for the second half of the ascent up to the top of Sugarloaf mountain (where the best views are).
Basically, there are two hills, as you can see in the diagram above, which we saw at the end of the hike up Morro da Urca. The first stump is what you hike up, and then to get to the second one, you have to take a cable car up. (Once you get to the top of the second peak, Sugarloaf, you’ll realize it would be nearly impossible to hike it – its cliffs are really sheer!) Even if you hike up to Morro da Urca, you can still take the cable car the whole way down, and save yourself some time and energy.
We love hiking, and we love to save a few dollars, so we opted for the hike up Morro da Urca.
And if you’re lucky on the hike up Morro da Urca, you might even catch a glimpse of one of the local adorable micos (tiny squirrel-like monkies), like the one above.
How to Hike up Morro da Urca
The trailhead for the hike was just a short 5 minute walk from the spot you’d take the first cable car up, near Praia Vermelha. You can Uber there and then walk to the north end of the beach, where you should see a cobblestone path heading into the woods at the base of Morro da Urca. You can also follow Google Maps to Pista Cláudio Coutinho, which should take you right to the trailhead.
The views along the first part of the hike are really lovely! And the hike itself was not incredibly strenuous. It starts out as a paved pathway, and once it veers off into the forest, it is a mixture of wooden steps and smooth rocks. As you can see, we were wearing comfortable sandals, and we were able to make it up the hike without any problems (though we did break a sweat).
If you arrive at the trailhead by 8:30 am, we’d estimate you’ll get up to the second hump to catch the cable car before 9:30 am. Both the first and second cable cars open at 8:30am, so the hike is a good way to beat the crowds if you decide to get started with the hike even earlier, because you could theoretically get to the second cable car that will take you straight to Sugarloaf right at 8:30 am when it opens. But we like to enjoy our breakfast, so we started hiking around 8:30 am. We made sure we ate well before tackling the hike!
- An original yellow cable cart
- Panoramic beach views
- A tattoo car (where you can literally get a tattoo)
- Little souvenir shops
- Views of Sugarloaf Mountain
The Cable Car Up Sugarloaf Mountain
After a short wait to board, you’ll cram into the cable car with 65 of your new closest friends. The carts look small from the outside, but they can fit a lot of people! They will fill up the cart to capacity before taking off. Again, the earlier you go, the better your shot at beating the crowds. It’s a fun ride that takes about 3 minutes. So if you have a fear of heights, know that it’s quick. Some people try to record the trip, but you’re better off enjoying the experience than trying to take a video. (However, we did take a video from the top and that made up for it!) It’s truly a surreal experience. We promise it’s worth it!
How to Get Tickets for Sugarloaf Mountain
There are several different options for buying tickets to Sugarloaf Mountain. You can buy tickets in advance on Parque Bondinho’s website. If you’re tight on time, you can also buy a skip-the-line ticket. At Sugarloaf, a skip-the-line ticket will allow you to bypass the long line at the base cable car station and board via the entrance marked “Exclusive Tickets.”
If you want to try the hiking option up Morro da Urca like we did, there is no way to buy your ticket in advance for the cable car from Morro da Urca to Sugarloaf. But you can easily buy tickets for this cable car at the ticket window on top of Morro da Urca. We were a bit nervous to start the hike up Morro da Urca without having purchased advance tickets, but we had no trouble finding the ticket window right by the cable car. And the best part was that there was no line! Because most people take the cable car all the way up from the bottom and wait in line down below.
What to Do at the Top of Sugarloaf Mountain
Once you arrive at the top of Sugarloaf, photo opportunities abound.
But beyond the lookout points, there are also a variety of snack stands and even a cafe that’s open seasonally. One snack in particular you’ll smell as soon as you get off. Brazilians love selling sweetened nuts, and we 100% recommend trying them at least once. Other delicious choices are the pao de queijo (cheesy bread rolls) or tapioca crepes! We got strawberry banana tapioca crepes, which were the perfect treat to eat while we took in the breathtaking views of Rio.
Descend to Praia Vermelha via Cable Car
After a morning of activity, we were ready to cool down & relax. You can take the cable cart straight down to Praia Vermelha (Red Beach) and get some food at a quaint gastropub with wonderful ratings, Terra Brasilis. Or you can lounge at the beach and get some beach snacks like Brigadeiro popsicles (“picolé de brigadeiro”) , Globo crackers (“biscoito Globo”), and grilled cheese with oregano (“queijo com oregano” – this is literally a thick slice of cheese put on a mini grill, NOT a sandwich). And if you see anyone selling ‘magic brigadeiros’ please know that those, though delicious, likely contain weed. But regular brigadeiros are phenomenal if you’re a fan of chocolate truffles.
