Corcovado
Encyclopedia
Hunchback
Hunchback may refer to one of the following.*A derogatory term for a person who has severe kyphosis*The Hunchback of Notre Dame*Hunchback , an arcade and computer game from the 1980s*The Hunchback, a 1914 film featuring Lillian Gish...
" in Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, is a mountain in central 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...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. The 710 metres (2,329 ft) granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
peak is located in the Tijuca Forest
Tijuca Forest
The Tijuca Forest is a mountainous hand-planted rainforest in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the world's largest urban forest, covering some 32 km²...
, a national park. It is sometimes confused with nearby Sugarloaf Mountain
Sugarloaf Mountain, Brazil
Sugarloaf Mountain , is a peak situated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the mouth of Guanabara Bay on a peninsula that sticks out into the Atlantic Ocean...
Corcovado hill lies just west of the city center but is wholly within the city limits and visible from great distances. It is known worldwide for the 38-metre (125 ft) statue of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
atop its peak, entitled Cristo Redentor
Christ the Redeemer (statue)
Christ the Redeemer is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; considered the largest Art Deco statue in the world and the 5th largest statue of Jesus in the world. It is tall, including its pedestal, and wide. It weighs 635 tonnes , and is located at the peak of the Corcovado...
or "Christ the Redeemer
Christ the Redeemer (statue)
Christ the Redeemer is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; considered the largest Art Deco statue in the world and the 5th largest statue of Jesus in the world. It is tall, including its pedestal, and wide. It weighs 635 tonnes , and is located at the peak of the Corcovado...
".
Access
The peak and statue can be accessed via a narrow road or by the 3.8 kilometre (2.4 mi) Corcovado Rack RailwayCorcovado Rack Railway
The Corcovado Train is a mountain railway in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, from Cosme Velho to the summit of the Corcovado Mountain at an altitude of . The summit is known for its statue of Christ the Redeemer and its views over the city and beaches of Rio....
which was opened in 1884 and refurbished in 1980. The railway uses two electrically powered trains, with a passenger capacity of 360 passengers per hour. The rail trip takes approximately 20 minutes and departs every half hour. Due to its limited passenger capacity, the wait to board at the entry station can take several hours. The year-round schedule is 8:30 to 18:30.
From the train terminus and road, the observation deck at the foot of the statue is reached by 223 steps, or by elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
s and escalator
Escalator
An escalator is a moving staircase – a conveyor transport device for carrying people between floors of a building. The device consists of a motor-driven chain of individual, linked steps that move up or down on tracks, allowing the step treads to remain horizontal.Escalators are used around the...
s. Among the most popular year-round tourist attractions in Rio, the Corcovado railway, access roads, and statue platform are commonly crowded.
Attractions
The most popular attraction of Corcovado mountain is the statue and viewing platform at its peak, drawing over 300,000 visitors per year. From the peak's platform the panoramic view includes downtown Rio, Sugarloaf MountainSugarloaf Mountain, Brazil
Sugarloaf Mountain , is a peak situated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the mouth of Guanabara Bay on a peninsula that sticks out into the Atlantic Ocean...
, the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas
Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas
Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, mostly known as "Lagoa", is a lagoon and district in the Lagoa, Zona Sul of Rio de Janeiro. The lagoon is connected to the Atlantic, allowing sea water to enter, by a canal which is bordered by the park locally known as Jardim de Alá.The lagoon is surrounded by the...
(lake), Copacabana and 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...
beaches, Estádio do Maracanã
Estádio do Maracanã
The Estádio do Maracanã , officially Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho, is an open-air stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Owned by the Rio de Janeiro State Government, it is named after the Maracanã neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro. It was opened in 1950 to host the FIFA World Cup, and in the final...
(Maracanã Stadium), and several of Rio's favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
s. Cloud cover is common in Rio and the view from the platform is often obscured. Sunny days are recommended for optimal viewing.
Notable past visitors to the mountain peak include Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
, Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
, Alberto Santos-Dumont
Alberto Santos-Dumont
Alberto Santos-Dumont , was a Brazilian early pioneer of aviation. The heir of a wealthy family of coffee producers, Santos Dumont dedicated himself to science studies in Paris, France, where he spent most of his adult life....
, German Sueiro Vasquez, Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
, and Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
. An additional attraction of the mountain is rock climbing
Rock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
. The south face had 54 climbing routes as of 1992. The easiest way starts from Park Lage.
The Corcovado is also a symbol of the Brazilian culture.
Geology
The peak of Corcovado is a big granite domeGranite dome
A granite dome is a dome of granite, formed by exfoliation.-Formation:Granite forms plutons of igneous rock several kilometers below the surface as magma slowly cools and crystallizes. The granite is under great overhead pressure....
, which describes a generally vertical rocky formation. It is claimed to be the highest such formation in Brazil, the second highest being Pedra Agulha, situated near to the town of Pancas
Pancas, Espírito Santo
Pancas is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Espírito Santo. Its population was 20,025 and its area is 824 km².It is situated on a tributary of the Doce River, in the northwest of the state. Locally it is known as a good spot for paragliding...
in Esprito Santo.
Popular culture
Corcovado is a famous bossa novaBossa nova
Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music. Bossa nova acquired a large following in the 1960s, initially consisting of young musicians and college students...
song written by Antônio Carlos Jobim
Antônio Carlos Jobim
Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim , also known as Tom Jobim , was a Brazilian songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, and pianist/guitarist. He was a primary force behind the creation of the bossa nova style, and his songs have been performed by many singers and instrumentalists within...
in the mid-1960s. It is also mentioned in the Ben Harper
Ben Harper
Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances and activism. Harper's fan base spans several continents...
song titled "Blessed to be a Witness". A song called "Corcovado" by João Romeu Ferraz also illustrates the grandiosity of the statue.
Corcovado is also a electronic house song by Ray Knox that became popular in late 2010.
Corcovado shows resemblance to the Modern Warfare 2 map Favela.