Today's recommended site in this large Brazilian city is the so-called Pedra da Gávea, which was the first place in this entire part of the country to receive a Portuguese name. This mountain was baptized by the sailors who arrived there in the expedition of Gaspar de Lemos, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, who saw that its silhouette reminded them of a Cofa de Vigía, or that part of the ship's mast from where someone looks towards where the boat is headed and its surroundings.
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| Pedra da Gávea Brazil |
This part in Portuguese is called Pedra da Gávea, and the famous stone is a monolith that is made of gneiss, which is a rock that is composed of quartz, mica and feldspar, and that gives it those lines that make its appearance so characteristic. Although the peak of the rock is in the Barra da Tijuca neighborhood, the rest is also between São Conrado, Joah and Itanhangá.
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| Pedra da Gávea Brazil |
The Pedra da Gávea has its peak, which is made of granite, at about 842 meters above sea level and is the largest block of stone by the sea in the whole world. Due to its height, its location and the growing lack of vegetation in it, this place has suffered a great erosion that has given it the appearance of a face on one of its faces, but at the same time has caused pieces to fall off her.
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| Pedra da Gávea Brazil |
The best way to see this site is by joining one of the tours that take you hiking to the top of this rock and last about two hours. On the way up you can see a beautiful vegetation typical of the Atlantic rain forest, to see how it gradually decreases at the top, from where you can have beautiful views of both the city and the coastline and the sea.