A Visit To Corcovado and Cristo Redentor (The Giant Stone Jesus)

Corcovado is the name of a mountain in the middle of Rio de Janeiro.

Atop this mountain stands a 130 ft / 40 m tall statue of a man known to some as Jesus, to others as Christ, and to others still as “that guy on the cross”.

To reach said man you have the option of trekking two hours through a monkey (and supposedly thief) ridden jungle, or paying R$36 for a train (more like a slow trolley car) to taxi you to the top (note: you also have the option of taking a “sketchy van tour” to the top and are harassed by people on the street to do so prior to entering the base of the tram).

In the interest of not being harassed by jungle monkeys or ladrões, today I chose to fork over money for a trolly ride, but rest assured another pilgrimage will be made, machete in hand – hungry for monkey blood (I hear it’s delicious).

But back to our hero, Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer; the name of aforementioned statue).

In person, it truly is massive (you hear that Mount Rushmore?), and being one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World”, it does live up to the hype (though I was not previously aware of said list or hype).

Even though there are literally hundreds of people concentrated on the small platform surrounding my massive companion, I am 79% sure that he (the saviour) is giving me the eye the entire time I have been up here (not sure if this means I am burning or being saved come the rapture).

The cliché pose (arms stretched out, imitating the statue) was out in spades, but I managed to resist capturing one of these, opting for something a little more conservative instead.

TAKEAWAYS: Come early (expect to wait at least 45 minutes before getting on a train up), avoid the monkeys (they perform acrobatic feats to distract you as other come round to swipe your valuables), and most importantly: sit on the right-hand side of the train for the journey up (the views are far superior).