Corcovado () which means "
hunchback" in
Portuguese, is a mountain in central
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
,
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. It is a
granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
peak located in the
Tijuca Forest, a national park.
Corcovado hill lies just west of the city center but is wholly within the city limits and visible from great distances. It is known worldwide for the statue of
Jesus
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
atop its peak, entitled
''Christ the Redeemer''.
Access
The peak and statue can be reached via a narrow road, by the
Corcovado Rack Railway, which was opened in 1884 and refurbished in 1980, or by the walking trail on the south side of the mountain that starts from
Parque Lage. The railway uses three electrically powered trains, with a capacity of 540 passengers per hour. The rail trip takes approximately 20 minutes and departs every 20 minutes. Due to its limited passenger capacity, the wait to board at the entry station can take several hours. The year-round schedule is 8:30 to 18:30.
From the train terminus and road, the observation deck at the foot of the statue is reached by 223 steps, or by
elevators and
escalator
An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a Electric motor, motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the st ...
s. Among the most popular year-round tourist attractions in Rio de Janeiro, the Corcovado railway, access roads, and statue platform are commonly crowded.
Attractions
Corcovado's most popular attraction is the statue depicting Jesus at its peak, entitled ''Christ the Redeemer'' (''),'' and the viewing platform at its peak, drawing over 300,000 visitors per year. The statue was constructed from 1922 to 1931. From the peak's platform the panoramic view includes downtown Rio de Janeiro,
Sugarloaf Mountain, the
Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon
Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon (Portuguese: ''Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas'') is a lagoon in the district of Lagoa, Rio de Janeiro, Lagoa in the Zona Sul (South Zone) area of Rio de Janeiro. The lagoon is connected to the Atlantic Ocean, allowing sea wate ...
,
Copacabana and
Ipanema beaches,
Maracanã Stadium, and several of Rio de Janeiro's
favelas. Cloud cover is common in Rio and the view from the platform is often obscured. Sunny days are recommended for optimal viewing.
Notable past visitors to the mountain peak include
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
,
Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...
,
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005.
In his you ...
,
Alberto Santos-Dumont,
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
,
Diana, Princess of Wales,
General Sherman, and
Karl Pilkington. An additional attraction of the mountain is
rock climbing
Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending climbing routes, routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in c ...
. The south face had 54 climbing routes in 1992. The easiest way starts from Parque Lage.
Geology
The peak of Corcovado is a big
granite dome, which describes a generally vertical rocky formation. It is claimed to be the highest such formation in Brazil, the second highest being Pedra Agulha, situated near the town of
Pancas in
Espírito Santo.
References in Brazilian culture
Corcovado is considered an icon of Brazilian culture. "
Corcovado" is a 1960
bossa nova song and
jazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive List ...
by
Antônio Carlos Jobim
Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim (25 January 1927 – 8 December 1994), also known as Tom Jobim (), was a Brazilian composer, pianist, guitarist, songwriter, arranger, and singer. Considered as one of the great exponents of Brazilian ...
whose lyrics draw on images of the hill. Corcovado has also been referenced in other artistic works (e.g. the lyrics of
Ben Harper,
literary works, films, etc.).
Gallery
Image:Marc Ferrez - IMS 007A6P4FP15-015.jpg, Corcovado before the construction of ''Christ the Redeemer'', 19th century
File:Corcovado_visto_pela_Urca_-_panoramio.jpg, Corcovado seen from Urca
Image:A_lua_e_o_Cristo.jpg, The statue of '' Christ the Redeemer'' atop Corcovado
File:Corcovado_sunset_silhouette.jpg, Corcovado seen from Sugarloaf Mountain during sunset
File:Rio_de_Janeiro,_Pão_de_Açúcar_from_Cristo_Redentor_(15744316848).jpg, Botafogo bay seen from Corcovado
Image:Trem do Corcovado na Estação Paineiras 01.jpg, Corcovado Rack Railway
References
External links
* {{commons category-inline
'back to Rio'. RGSSA blog post contains image of Corcovada taken in 1914Practical information about Corcovado mountainon WikiRio
Mountains of Brazil
Granite domes
Christ the Redeemer (statue)
Geography of Rio de Janeiro (city)
Landforms of Rio de Janeiro (state)
National heritage sites of Rio de Janeiro (state)