Christ the Redeemer

The statue

Christ the Redeemer stands on the summit of Corcovado, the granite peak whose name means hunchback, about 700 metres above the city inside the Tijuca National Park. The Art Deco statue is 30 metres tall on an 8-metre pedestal, its arms span 28 metres, and it weighs 635 tonnes: reinforced concrete under a skin of soapstone mosaic.

It took from 1922 to 1931 to build and was inaugurated on 12 October 1931. The Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa built it with the French engineer Albert Caquot, the French-Polish sculptor Paul Landowski created the figure, and the Romanian sculptor Gheorghe Leonida sculpted the face. On 7 July 2007 it was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

At the summit

A small chapel to Nossa Senhora Aparecida, Brazil's patron saint, was consecrated beneath the statue in 2006, and baptisms and weddings are held there. An hour at the top is plenty for photos, the chapel and the view. Bring water, a hat and a light layer, since the summit is often cooler and breezier than the beach.

From the platform you look down on the Lagoa, the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema, Sugarloaf and the city centre. The peak is often in cloud, so choose a clear morning for the full view.

Three ways up

There are three ways to the top: the rack railway from Cosme Velho, the official vans run by the Paineiras Corcovado concession, or on foot through the forest. Private cars cannot drive the last stretch, because only the official vans may use the road through the national park to the monument, and the Paineiras visitor centre has no car park.

The train ticket and the van ticket both include entry to the monument, so there is nothing more to pay at the top. Walkers buy their entry at the ticket office near the summit.

Choose the train if you want the classic ride up through the forest, and the vans if a pick-up in Copacabana or Largo do Machado suits the rest of your day. Either way, the last stretch to the statue is the same.

The Corcovado train

The Corcovado train leaves from its own station at Rua Cosme Velho 513 and climbs about 3.8 km through the Atlantic Forest to the summit, using a toothed rack on gradients of up to 30 percent. Emperor Pedro II opened the line in 1884, it became the first electric railway in Brazil in 1910, and new Stadler trains took over in 2019; the ride takes about 15 to 20 minutes.

In August 2026 trains left every 20 minutes from 8 am to 5 pm on weekdays and until 6 pm at weekends and on holidays, and an adult ticket cost R$ 134 (it varies slightly with the season), including entry to the monument; children up to six ride free on an adult's lap. Buy on the official site and choose a departure time, which avoids the queue at the ticket office.

The train is the gentlest way up for grandparents, with no winding road and a seat the whole way. The adult fare is the same for every nationality, Brazilians and foreign residents over 60 pay a reduced fare, and fares and hours can change through the year, so check them when you book.

The official vans

At the time of writing the official vans board at four points: Praça do Lido in Copacabana, Largo do Machado in front of the church of Nossa Senhora da Glória, the Metropolitan Cathedral in the Centro (added in September 2026), and the Paineiras visitor centre on the Estrada das Paineiras, inside the forest. The ticket covers the round trip from the same point and entry to the monument, departures are sold in time slots with a limited number of seats, and the company asks passengers to arrive at least 15 minutes early.

The vans are popular: about a million people rode them between January and August 2026. The Paineiras visitor centre, in the forest below the summit, opened in 2016 and has a restaurant, a shop and a permanent exhibition on the forest, Floresta Protetora.

Van fares depend on the boarding point: from Copacabana and Largo do Machado they are close to the train fare, and from the Paineiras visitor centre they are lower. Check the Paineiras Corcovado site for current fares and times when you book, and contact the operator before the day if anyone needs help with access.

Booking and timing

Book a few days ahead on the official sites: the Trem do Corcovado for the train and Paineiras Corcovado for the vans. Every ticket is for a set departure time, and each slot has a limited number of places, which matters more than usual while capacity at the top is reduced.

Go early. The first departures, around 8 am, are the coolest of the day, and a morning visit leaves the afternoon free for the beach or the pool. Weekends, holidays and the high season are the busiest times, and in high season the operators sometimes extend their hours.

Check the forecast the evening before and keep a second morning free in case the peak is in cloud. At the time of writing the train's terms allow one free rebooking more than 48 hours before your slot, so read the rebooking rules of whichever operator you choose when you buy.

At the top until mid-2027

From 3 August 2026 until about the end of May 2027, the four escalators that have carried visitors up from the drop-off for more than 20 years are being replaced. While the work goes on, the number of visitors allowed at the top at one time is halved, and visits continue by train, van and trail.

From the train and van drop-off it is 220 steps to the statue in all. Three lifts still run between the first and second levels, and the last 80 steps to the platform are a stone staircase; for visitors with reduced mobility, trained staff operate stair-climbing chairs that take about eight minutes up, though not in rain.

When the work is finished, four new escalators able to carry 6,000 people an hour, and two new inclined lifts, will make the climb easier than before. If anyone in your group finds stairs hard, tell the operator when you book.

Walking up from Parque Lage

Fit walkers can climb to the statue through the forest from Parque Lage, on Rua Jardim Botânico. The Transcarioca trail's section from the park is about 3.3 km, followed by about a kilometre on the road to the monument, and takes around two and a half hours; it is graded moderate, with metal steps on the steepest pitches and several water points along the way. The trail starts behind the park entrance, where walkers sign in at a booth, and follows the Transcarioca's black footprints on a yellow base.

A shorter route opened in December 2024 from the Paineiras visitor centre: 1.15 km with 260 metres of climb, about 45 minutes, passing the glass-railed Cartão Postal lookout at 600 metres over the Lagoa and the beaches of Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon. Walkers buy their monument entry at the ticket office near the top, and you can take the train down for a separate fare.

Start early, before the heat builds by late morning, and walk with a local guide. Our guide to Pedra da Gávea and Pedra Bonita covers the hikes behind the villa.

Getting there from São Conrado

From the villa to the train station at Cosme Velho is about half an hour outside rush hour: through the Zuzu Angel tunnel to the Lagoa and on to Cosme Velho. Praça do Lido in Copacabana and Largo do Machado are a similar drive or a little longer, depending on traffic.

The driver drops you at the station or the van point and is back for you when you come down. Allow about three hours door to door for the morning, a little more on busy days.

On the way home the Lagoa makes an easy stop for a walk or lunch; see our Lagoa guide. Our things to do in Rio guide covers Sugarloaf, the city's other classic view.