The tourist complex of the Sugar Loaf hill in Rio de Janeiro, is actually formed by two hills or hills, interconnected by two sections of cable car that are independent. The 3 minutes of each tour is a fascinating journey with 360 ° views, thanks to the side walls of modern cabins are made of transparent plexi glass. The idea of making an “airway” to the top of the Sugar Loaf was from the Brazilian engineer Augusto Ferreira Ramos, who started the works in 1910. Two years later, on October 27, 1912, the first 577 people were able to climb to the top of the Urca hill in a wooden cable car with capacity for only 17 passengers, which covered the 528 meters of extension and 228 meters high, in about 6 minutes.Ī few months later, on January 18, 1913, the second section between the Urca hill and the Sugar Loaf was inaugurated, with an extension of 750 meters and 396 meters high.Īt present, the bondinhos (cable cars) that circulate in each section do so independently and can carry up to 65 passengers each. The history of the world-famous Bondinho do Pão de Açúcar (Sugar Loaf cable car), dates back to 1912 when the first section of the cable car that joins the Vermelha Beach (Red Beach) with the Urca hill, was inaugurated, becoming the first cable car Brazilian and third worldwide and placing Rio de Janeiro as a focus of international tourist attraction.
Without a doubt, the image of the Sugar Loaf of Rio de Janeiro and its famous Bondinhos or cable cars, crossing the Rio de Janeiro airs, is one of the most characteristic postcards of the city and one of the images most desired by visitors. In any case, whatever the origin of the name of the Sugar Loaf, this amazing nose is not only one of the biggest tourist attractions in Rio de Janeiro but it is a key place in the history of the city because it was here, at his feet, where the Portuguese Estacio de Sá founded the city of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro on March 1, 1565. But this has not been the only name of the hill, throughout its history, the Sugar Loaf Hill of Rio de Janeiro has also been known as “Pot de Beurre” or “Pot de Sucre”, names that were given by first French settlers, and «Pão de Sucar» or «Pão de Assucar», in old Portuguese. The second theory holds that the name comes from the word «Pau-nh-açuquã», which in the Tupi language of the Tamoios Indians (primitive inhabitants of Guanabara Bay) means high, isolated and pointed hill. The first, sustained by the historian Vieira Fazenda, points out that the name was given by the Portuguese between the 16th and 17th centuries, who compared the shape of the nose with that of the “pãos de açúcar” (sugar loaves), some blocks of conical sugar, made this way to more comfortably transport this product to Europe from Brazil, after processing the sugar cane. It is not known with certainty where the name Sugar Loaf comes from but there are two theories that are the most accepted. Of the many hills that are in the city, Sugar Loaf Hill is the only one with these characteristics, which gives it an incomparable charm and allows that from its top, at 396 meters high, you have privileged views of Rio de Janeiro and Guanabara Bay. The Sugar Loaf hill is a spectacular monolithic granite peak, practically without vegetation, that rises directly over the sea as part of a peninsula that enters the Atlantic Ocean.