Arpoador is an affluent neighborhood located on the southern zone of the city Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

, in a small peninsula between Ipanema

Ipanema

For other uses, see Ipanema . For the British rock band, see Ipanema .Ipanema is a neighborhood located in the southern region of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between Leblon and Arpoador...

 and Copacabana.

Surfing

Arpoador is mostly known for being one of the best metropolitan surf spots in Rio de Janeiro. The rock outcropping creates stable left breakers up to 7–10 feet high (wave face measure, as Brazilians do).

Given its metropolitan location, crowds are ferocious and competitive. Given the fact that waves start to break against the rock on a good day, and that a strong riptide along the promontory creates a quick re-entry, the take-off point is very small and only locals (or visiting professional-level surfers) have a shot at it.

Sunset

During some time around midsummer

Summer solstice

The summer solstice occurs exactly when the axial tilt of a planet's semi-axis in a given hemisphere is most inclined towards the star that it orbits. Earth's maximum axial tilt to our star, the Sun, during a solstice is 23° 26'. Though the summer solstice is an instant in time, the term is also...

 it is possible, from Arpoador, to see the sun setting over the sea, a rare event on the generally eastward-facing Brazilian coast. In these occasions crowds gather around the place and cheer when the sun disappears.