Corcovado () which means "

hunchback Kyphosis () is an abnormally excessive convex curvature of the spine as it occurs in the thoracic and sacral regions. Abnormal inward concave ''lordotic'' curving of the cervical and lumbar regions of the spine is called lordosis. It can ...

" 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 The Tijuca National Park () is an urban national park in the mountains of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The park is part of the Atlantic Forest Biosphere Preserve, and is administered by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conserva ...

, 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 The Corcovado Rack Railway () is a Mountain railway, mountain rack railway in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from Cosme Velho to the summit of Corcovado at an elevation of . The summit is famous for its giant statue of ''Christ the Redeemer (statue), C ...

, 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 Parque Henrique Lage is a public park in the city of Rio de Janeiro, located in the Jardim Botânico neighborhood at the foot of the Corcovado, on top of which Christ the Redeemer is located. The land was formerly the residence of industrial ...

. 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

elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

s 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 Sugarloaf Mountain (, ) is a peak situated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on a peninsula at the mouth of Guanabara Bay. Rising above the harbor, the peak is named for its resemblance to the traditional shape of concentrated refined loaf suga ...

, 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 Ipanema () is a neighbourhood located in the South Zone (Rio de Janeiro), South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, Leblon and Arpoador. The beach at Ipanema became known internationally with the populari ...

beaches,

Maracanã Stadium Maracanã Stadium (, ; named after the Maracanã River), officially known as Jornalista Mário Filho Stadium (, ; , named after Mário Filho), is an association football stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Located in the Maracanã neighbor ...

, and several of Rio de Janeiro's

favela Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of impoverished neighborhoods in Brazil. The term, which means slum or ghetto, was first used in the Slum of Providência in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was b ...

s. 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 Alberto Santos-Dumont (self-stylised as Alberto Santos=Dumont; 20 July 1873 – 23 July 1932) was a Brazilian aeronaut, sportsman, inventor, and one of the few people to have contributed significantly to the early development of both lighter-t ...

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 Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

General Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a General officer, general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognit ...

, and

Karl Pilkington Karl Pilkington (born 23 September 1972) is an English presenter, actor, voice-artist, producer and author. After working with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as producer on their Xfm radio show, Pilkington became a co-host of '' The Ricky ...

. 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 Espírito Santo (; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attracti ...

References in Brazilian culture

Corcovado is considered an icon of Brazilian culture. "

Corcovado Corcovado () which means " hunchback" in Portuguese, is a mountain in central Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a granite peak located in the Tijuca Forest, a national park. Corcovado hill lies just west of the city center but is wholly within t ...

" 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 ...

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 Benjamin Charles Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae, and rock music, and he is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, liv ...

, 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 Urca is a residential neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with a population of nearly 7,000. Although most of the neighborhood dates from the 1920s, parts of it are much older. What is now called the Fortaleza de São João (Rio de Janeiro), F ...

Image:A_lua_e_o_Cristo.jpg, The statue of '' Christ the Redeemer'' atop Corcovado File:Corcovado_sunset_silhouette.jpg, Corcovado seen from

during sunset File:Rio_de_Janeiro,_Pão_de_Açúcar_from_Cristo_Redentor_(15744316848).jpg,

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...

bay seen from Corcovado Image:Trem do Corcovado na Estação Paineiras 01.jpg,

References

External links

* {{commons category-inline
'back to Rio'. RGSSA blog post contains image of Corcovada taken in 1914Practical information about Corcovado mountain
on 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)