When done the right way, using local guides who focus on the unique culture of the neighborhood, Rio’s favela tours are a rewarding cultural experience.
(Photo: Getyourguide.com)
Rio de Janeiro is one of the world’s great urban travel destinations, with globally recognizable landmarks such as Ipanema Beach and Christ the Redeemer. It’s also a city with growing pains, where many of its poorer citizens (by some accounts around 1.5 million people) are forced to live and thrive in overlooked areas, known as favelas. For all the negative press however, there is a remarkable culture that is growing in these neighborhoods and the resulting plethora of walking tours have, in turn, brought fresh tourism revenue right into the heart of poorer areas of the city. Here are five culturally sensitive tours of Rio’s favelas.
Rio de Janeiro Favela Santa Marta Tour with a Local Guide
High above the main city lies Santa Marta favela, where your guide for this tour lives. Take a cable car up to the favela with your guide, then drop by their house for a welcome drink. During the two-plus-hour walk, you’ll visit the viewpoints looking out over Rio de Janeiro and explore some of the social projects designed to improve the quality of life for Santa Marta’s residents. This tour, overwhelmingly loved by previous participants, is available daily, with morning or afternoon departures available. From $33 per person.
Rocinha Favela Guided Walking Tour with Local Guide
Built on the steep hillsides rising up above Rio, Rocinha is one of the former shanty neighborhoods that has developed the most in past decades. During the course of this three-hour walking excursion, you will explore the mazey streets with a local resident, who knows all the best viewpoints and inspirational nooks of the neighborhood. You’ll hear about how the community came together to transform the quality of life through collaboration, art and shared culture. This tour runs on most days of the year. From $34 per person.
(Photo: Viator.com)
3-Hour Rocinha Favela Walking Tour with a Local Guide
With around 70,000 residents, Rocinha is considered to be Rio de Janeiro’s biggest favela, although these days it’s more appropriate to term it a neighborhood. This local guide-led walking tour aims to provide an insider’s perspective of the daily life and ongoing challenges of poverty and overcrowding faced by all who live in the area. See local commerce in action, as well as the efforts of local organizations to improve living conditions in the favela. The tour fee includes a small contribution to the local community. From $40 per person.
Rio De Janeiro Half-Day Rocinha Favela Walking Tour
With the aim of debunking myths and breaking down stereotypes, this four-hour walking tour in Rocinha aims to be respectful and non-intrusive. Guided by a local resident, you will have the chance to meet people who have spent their entire lives living in the favela who are happy to tell their stories about life in the area. This is among the most highly rated favela tours in Brazil and offers the chance for a view of the cityscape from a good vantage point. Tours run daily. From $42 per person.
(Photo: Getyourguide.com)
Vidigal Favela Tour and Two Brothers Hike
Believed to be one of Rio’s prettiest favelas, Vidigal is an up-and-coming neighborhood with hip bars and vibrant street art. It’s testament to the potentially transformative power of encouraging visitors to come from the outside to spend their money on local commerce. Over five hours, this tour takes you to discover what makes the local community so special, before continuing uphill to hike to the top of Morro Dois Irmaos (Two Brothers Hill). The tour lasts five hours and departs daily in the morning. From $74 per person.