Hiking Pedra Da Gávea. What You Need To Know.
A quick guide on hiking the most epic mountain in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
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The hike
There were many alternative hikes in Rio De Janeiro to choose from, but we wanted to push ourselves and try one of the hardest ones out there, Pedra da GáveaThis was a challenging climb and we weren’t in the best of shape after a night out during carnival season. The terrain consisted of muddy surfaces, rocks, tree roots and some abseiling. We were going to hikePedra da Gávea alone but luckily bumped into @Katrina.abboud who introduced us to a local hiker ‑ @Ualacejack that knew the route inside out.
All or nothing...
The climb itself is not super difficult. There are many parts of the trail where you have to use your hands and feet to pull yourself up. In some sections there are sturdy ropes in place to assist you with the climb.
You don’t require to use any harness for the majority of the hike up Pedra da Gávea, however we used it when we made it to the “Carrasqueira section”. This part consists of a 30m incline climb, all you have to do is not look down.
There were a few hikers who stopped at this point and didn’t want to continue further, but we did. It was all or nothing, we would have gone home like losers if we had turned back.
Once you make it past this section, there’s one last part to hike before reaching the peak of Pedra da Gávea.
You don’t require to use any harness for the majority of the hike up Pedra da Gávea, however we used it when we made it to the “Carrasqueira section”. This part consists of a 30m incline climb, all you have to do is not look down.
There were a few hikers who stopped at this point and didn’t want to continue further, but we did. It was all or nothing, we would have gone home like losers if we had turned back.
Once you make it past this section, there’s one last part to hike before reaching the peak of Pedra da Gávea.
All the way up...
Once you hit the summit you are rewarded with an insane view of Rio De Janeiro, with a feeling that you’ve conquered the world.
You’ll see most hikers shooting an iconic picture close to the edge. It looks dodgy, but shooting a picture at the right angle will give you the sense of scale and depth of the cliff.
We did this climb as beginners and hiking it in the rain isn’t recommended. On our way down, a guy we had met along our hike had slipped and fallen into a deep ditch because of taking the wrong route. We helped as much as we could, but as we were deep in the jungle, it took about 2 1/2 hours for the fireman and ambulance to arrive (they had to hike with a stretcher to where we were and hike back to the vehicle).
If you do plan to climb this Pedra Da Gávea, be safe, and I’d highly recommend to go with someone who knows the route. It is definitely worth the climb!!!
You’ll see most hikers shooting an iconic picture close to the edge. It looks dodgy, but shooting a picture at the right angle will give you the sense of scale and depth of the cliff.
We did this climb as beginners and hiking it in the rain isn’t recommended. On our way down, a guy we had met along our hike had slipped and fallen into a deep ditch because of taking the wrong route. We helped as much as we could, but as we were deep in the jungle, it took about 2 1/2 hours for the fireman and ambulance to arrive (they had to hike with a stretcher to where we were and hike back to the vehicle).
If you do plan to climb this Pedra Da Gávea, be safe, and I’d highly recommend to go with someone who knows the route. It is definitely worth the climb!!!
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