Christ the Redeemer

There is a road less-travelled to Rio's most celebrated attraction. Every year, about three million people visit the statue of Christ the Redeemer, an art deco masterpiece that looks over the teeming Olympic city from the 710-metre (2,329 ft) peak of Corcovado mountain. Hardly any of them walk there  – and they don't know what they're missing. In this Olympic year, what better way to cross this off your bucket list than by hiking to the top?

The trail starts from Parque Lage, an ornate Austenesque garden next to the Jardim Botânico. The park is home to an art school, a highly rated café plus numerous fish-ponds and follies from another age. From here it's a steep, tiring but manageable walk of 90 minutes to two hours through dense forest to the top of Corcovado, crossing the cog-railway that most tourists use for their visit. You'll still need to cough up the entrance fee to access Christ the Redeemer, but it's a small price to pay to round off an unforgettable personal pilgrimage to one of the seven wonders of the world.

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Walkers on the trail from Parque Lage up to the top of Corcovado mountain enjoy unique views of Christ the Redeemer (Photo: Visit Rio/Alexandre Macieira)

Morro da Urca

Rio's second most popular attraction is less accessible to walkers. If you want to get to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain (Pão de Açúcar) without using the cable car at all, you'll have to get out the ropes and crampons. But for those of us who aren't mountain climbers, there is a tempting halfway option; a 40-to-50-minute trail that leads from the beach up to the cable car's first hilltop stop on the Morro da Urca. The walk will you take you past the crashing waves of Guanabara Bay and then up through a forest teeming with birdlife, reptiles and monkeys. From here, you can then pay a reduced price to go by cabin car up to Sugarloaf itself; alternatively, stay here for an excellent vantage point over the Olympic sailing events.

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 The view from Morro da Urca of Guanabara Bay and Sugarloaf Mountain (Photo: Visit Rio)

Parque da Catacumba 

A walk in the park, literally. Until the 1960s, a favela stood on the slope of this gentle hill on the eastern shore of the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon. Now it's home to a sculpture park and a small outdoor activity centre popular with children and families. A 30-minute walk from the entrance takes you to the Mirante de Sacopã, looking out over the lake and the neighbourhoods of Ipanema and Leblon on the far shore. Come here for the Olympic rowing and the canoe sprint events and you'll have some of the best seats in the house.

Morro Dois Irmãos

Many people are uncomfortable with favela tours. On a hike to the top of the Dois Irmãos, the twin peaks that look over Ipanema and Leblon beaches, you can combine an authentic, non-exploitative look into favela life with some of the most spectacular views in Rio. Organised tours can help you understand life in the diverse and welcoming community of Vidigal.

Alternatively, take a minivan or mototaxi from the entrance of Vidigal up to the beginning of the trail; from here it's about 50 minutes of fairly steep walking to the top, taking in stunning views on one side of the city's largest favela (Rocinha) and on the other of its most up-scale neighbourhoods (Ipanema, Leblon, Jardim Botânico and Gávea). No other hike offers such an insight into the exhilarating diversity of the Olympic city.

Pedra Bonita

The name translates as "beautiful rock" and it's hard to argue with that. At the division between southern Rio and the western region of Barra da Tijuca, the location of the largest cluster of Olympic venues, Pedra Bonita offers superb views of the city in all directions. It's from here that hang gliders and paragliders launch themselves into the void before landing on São Conrado beach below. 

The best way to access the trail is from the Estrada das Canoas, the steep road that rises from São Conrado beach into Tijuca Forest, the world's largest urban forest. Come August, road cyclists will be straining their every fibre on this demanding but scenic ascent. From the car park by the hang gliding ramp, it's a 30-to-40-minute steepish walk to the top through thick forest; expect butterflies and monkeys to be your companions. 

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The peaceful early-evening view from Pedra Bonita towards Barra da Tijuca (Photo: Visit Rio)

Pedra da Gávea

The flat top of the 844 metre (2,769 feet) high Pedra da Gávea is one of the city's most recognisable sights. Towering above Pedra Bonita, this granite monolith is the most challenging hike in Rio and has the most spectacular views to match. It's best accessed from Barra da Tijuca, location of Barra Olympic Park and the athletes’ village. While you don't have to be an Olympian to tackle this monster, allow a good three hours to get to the top. There's even a small section where you have to scrabble almost vertically up the rocks.

From the flat summit, on a clear day the city of Rio stretches out as far as the eye can see, while hang gliders drift below and far into the distance container ships and sailing boats glitter on the deep blue of the Atlantic. It's an intense, exhausting hike, but an Olympic memory that you will take with you for ever.

 

Pedra do Telégrafo

With a hike here, you've come to the furthest reaches of Rio 2016, just beyond the point where in August the road cyclists will be completing their arduous time trial and the racewalkers will be doing their stuff. So-called Telegraph Rock was home to a military communications post in World War II and is located to the west of Grumari, where the outskirts of Rio give way to endless deserted beaches and subtropical rainforest. Little known until last year, the trail to the rock has found international fame on social media; an optical illusion makes it the perfect spot for impressing far-off friends and families with images of your death-defying adventures in the Olympic city.

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