Pedra da Gavea Hike: Challenging Ascent on Rio's Famous Trail Through Atlantic Forest
5.0
14 Ratings
Barra da Tijuca
The Pedra da Gavea trail is one of the most beautiful and challenging hikes in Rio de Janeiro. Located in the Tijuca National Park and passing through the Atlantic Forest, the trail is a steep ascent to the summit of the world’s tallest coastal monolith. Experience this hike with one of our certified AGUIPERJ guides!
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Praça Desembargador Araújo Jorge - We start the hike at 8 am when the entrance to the trail opens. The trail passes through the Atlantic Forest, a beautiful and shaded natural environment rich in diverse fauna and flora. It is a steep hike, with many natural obstacles and challenges along the way!
After completing about two-thirds of the hike, we arrive at a 30-meter “scramble” - a steep, rocky section called Carrasqueira where we use a rope and other rock climbing equipment to get to the top safely. The trail exits the heavily forested area at this point and the views open up! After another 20 minutes of hiking, we arrive at Gavea’s incredible summit - an impressive plateau offering 360-degree views of Rio de Janeiro and its spectacular landscape
After enjoying some time at the summit and taking a lot of pictures, we begin our hike back along the same trail used to summit. We descend Carrasqueira using a rope and a technique similar to rappel, allowing us to pass the section with safety and confidence
Although the trail is strenuous, prior hiking or rock climbing experience is not required. Our guides lead at a pace that is suitable for all participants and give lots of hiking and climbing tips along the way!
What's Included
- Certified guide
- All taxes, fees and handling charges
- Use of safety equipment
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
Location
Praça Desembargador Araújo Jorge
We will meet in front of the bakery Concha Doce.
Please bring water (2-3L per person), snacks, sunscreen, insect repellent, light windbreaker, and a sun cap. Use a backpack to carry your personal belongings. Wear walking, running or hiking shoes with good traction on rock.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(14 Ratings)
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Rachel12345678910123
Mar 28, 2023
Amazing day - Such a great day!! My guide Denis was the AMAZING! He had such good energy and knew all the best spots for photo ops :-). The views at the top really are incredible but the climbing section was definitely the best part. I couldn’t recommend enough!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sightsee45347985811
Jul 23, 2022
Great hike with Victor! - We hiked to the top of Pedra Da Gavea as part of a 2 week holiday in Brazil. We decided to do the hike on my friends birthday and what a great idea this was. We met our guide Victor at the bottom who proved to be incredibly safe and knowledgeable. Once we got to the top, Victor had brought with him some cake to celebrate my friend’s birthday. It was a nice touch and really topped the entire day off. The photo opportunities were incredible at the top and we were very lucky with the weather. Can’t recommend the experience enough and top marks to Victor for all he did!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Matthew
Mar 30, 2022
Un-freaking-believable is what Da Gavea is! 😍😍🔥🔥🔥🤗🤗🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷 - The single best view and hiking experience to be had in Rio. I would give it more than 5 stars if I could. Don’t overthink this. The top of Da Gavea truly is one of the best views in the entire world. The hike itself is work and you will need to rock climb. If you don’t like heights then this definitely will be a challenge. Being reasonably fit is a borderline requirement as well. I can’t recommend this experience enough. Just do it and thank you later 🤙🤙
@nothin_but_views
Review provided by Tripadvisor
785sofiah
Dec 13, 2021
Super hike and guide! - Super guide Gigi! He was skilled and helpful. Very friendly and spoke very good english. The hike was pretty demanding with some climbing at the end.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mayagfc
Sep 3, 2021
Amazing experience once again! - It was our second time out with Rio Mountain Sports. This time we chose to climb Gavea. Best hike we’ve done in Rio! It’s not easy - the trail is steep, there is a lot of scrambling and even some rock climbing. Really rewarding overall! Our guide, Didi, was very safety-conscious the entire time. He was also fun, shared lots of local tips, and took awesome pictures. Definitely recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oxana_dizdari
Nov 17, 2020
Amazing experience - Loved the experience! The hike is long, but totally worth it. The view at the top of the mountain was breathtaking. We hiked with Ivanir, he was very nice, explained and helped us in the difficult parts of the trail. If we didn't go with someone experienced we would probably give up. So we thank Ivanir for the amazing day!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Martybacardi25
Feb 15, 2020
Absolutely fabulous!!!! - I am so happy I booked this hiking tour with Ivanir. What a great human being to spend the day with summiting one of the coolest mountains in the world. The view from the summit is SPECTACULAR!!!! Better than Sugar Loaf and Redeemer. And infinitely more rewarding and fulfilling because you will absolutely be earning the pictures you will get at the top. Be prepared to be challenged though. Mentally and physically. It’s not a walk in the park by any means. It lives up to its “difficult” rating and then some so be prepared to work. Bring enough water and bring snacks. It was about 25c and my lady and I crushed over 3 large bottles of water easy. I’ve hiked many mountains around the world and this one is in my top 3. No doubt about it! Just sign up and do it. You can thank me later 🤙
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Joserenatoo2016
Feb 9, 2020
What a day !!! - We just arrived from Pedra da Gávea hiking with Ivanir Chamberlain !!! What a perfect day ! Ivanir has a great hiking and climbing experience, besides being extremely professional and competent.
If you intent to go to Pedra da Gávea, I do recommend to go with this guy.
He also knows the best spots for that perfect photos.
The best you can get.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bjojoh74
Jan 9, 2020
Great hike on a hot day - Had a great hike with Adilio, on the top we met a basejumper which jumped off as we watched . Adilio also mentioned that the top iis popular among wingsuit jumpers, as there were only us 2 we used approximately 2 1/2 hour up and 1 1/2 hour down with an hour spent at the top. The trail is well marked and the first 2 km is easy, after that it also includes a couple of climbs and also rocky sections which is more difficult to pass through. On the way down I rappelled down the longest climb section with assistance of Adilio, quite exciting as it was my first time
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Agnes
Aug 2, 2019
A climb up to Pedra da Gavea - Me and my husband set out with our guide Ivanir Chamberlain on Sunday morning to climb one of the more challenging rocks in Forresta da Tijuca. We climbed other nearby peaks before but this turned out a special day with the steep trail taking us through beautiful Atlantic forrest and low clouds making way to spectacular views over São Conrado and Dois Irmãos from the top.
Ivanir made us confident to climb and descent the Carrasqueira section using ropes and climbing equipment. He proved knowledgeable, patient, relaxed and well prepared. We can wholeheartedly recommend Ivanir and Rio Mountain Sport and are planning our next climbing trip up Pão de Açucar bringing our 13 and 11 year old children.
Obrigado Ivanir, até breve!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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