Sugarloaf Mountain

Sugarloaf Mountain (Portuguese: Pão de Açúcar, pronounced [ˈpɐ̃w dʒ(i) ɐˈsukaʁ]) is a peak situated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the mouth of Guanabara Bay on a peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean. Rising 396 m (1,299 ft) above the harbor, the peak is named for its resemblance to the traditional shape of concentrated refined loaf sugar. It is known worldwide for its cableway and panoramic views of the city and beyond.

This article is about the mountain in Rio de Janeiro. For other mountains with the same name, see List of mountains named Sugarloaf.
"Pão de Açúcar" redirects here. For the city, see Pão de Açúcar, Alagoas. For the retailer, see Grupo Pão de Açúcar.
Sugarloaf Mountain
Highest point
Elevation396 m (1,299 ft)
Coordinates22°56′55″S 43°09′26″W
Geography
Sugarloaf Mountain is located in Rio de Janeiro
Sugarloaf Mountain
Sugarloaf Mountain
Location in Rio de Janeiro
LocationRio de Janeiro
Sugarloaf seen from Urca hill.
Sunrise in Rio de Janeiro with Sugarloaf Mountain, as seen from Tijuca Forest

The mountain is one of several monolithic granite and quartz mountains that rise straight from the water's edge around Rio de Janeiro. Geologically, it is considered part of a family of steep-sided rock outcroppings known as non-inselberg bornhardts.

The mountain is protected by the Sugarloaf Mountain and Urca Hill Natural Monument, created in 2006. This became part of a World Heritage Site declared by UNESCO in 2012.[1]

Origins of the name

The name Sugarloaf was coined in the 16th century by the Portuguese during the heyday of sugarcane trade in Brazil due to sugar imports from the Portuguese conquest of Goa, according to historian Vieira Fazenda. Blocks of sugar were placed in conical molds made of clay to be transported on ships. The form of the peak reminded them of the well-known resulting "sugarloaf" shape, and the nickname has since been extended to be a general descriptor for formations of this kind.[2]

Cable car
Main article: Sugarloaf Cable Car

A glass-walled cable car (bondinho or, more formally, teleférico), capable of holding 65 people, runs along a 1,400 m (4,600 ft) route between the peaks of Sugarloaf and Morro da Urca every 20 minutes. The original cable car line was built in 1912 and rebuilt around 1972–73 and in 2008. The cable car goes from a ground station, at the base of Morro da Babilônia, to Morro da Urca and thence to Sugarloaf's summit.

Reaching the summit

To reach the summit, passengers take two cable cars. The first ascends to the shorter Morro da Urca, 220 m (722 ft) high. The second car ascends to Pão de Açúcar.[3] The Swiss-made bubble-shaped cars offer passengers 360° views of the surrounding city. The ascent takes three minutes from start to finish.

Timeline
  • 1907 – Brazilian engineer Augusto Ferreira Ramos had the idea of linking the hills through a path in the air.
  • 1910 – The same engineer founded the Society of Sugar Loaf and the same year the works were started. The project was commissioned in Germany and built by Brazilian workers. All parts were taken by climbing mountains or lifted by steel cables.
  • 1912 – Opening of the cableway, the first in Brazil and the third of this kind worldwide;[4] the first cable cars were made of coated wood and were used for 61 years.
  • 1973 – The current models of cars were put into operation. This increased the carrying capacity by almost ten times.
  • 2009 – Inauguration of the next generation of cable cars that had already been purchased and are on display at the base of Red beach
  • 2020 – Closed in March 2020 &[5] partially reopened in August 2020.[6]
Panoramic view of Rio de Janeiro and Niterói (right) from Sugarloaf

Rock climbing

There are rock climbing routes on Sugarloaf that are mostly multipitch and are a mixture of sport and trad.[7] There are also two other mountains in the area with technical rock climbing, Morro da Babilônia[8] and Morro da Urca.[9] Together, they form one of the largest urban climbing areas in the world, with more than 270 routes, between 1 and 10 pitches long.

Appearances in media

Sugarloaf in art, 16th to 19th century
  • Founding of Rio de Janeiro in 1565. Sugarloaf is seen in the background.
    Founding of Rio de Janeiro in 1565. Sugarloaf is seen in the background.
  • View of Sugarloaf from the terrace of the Convento de Santo Antônio (Convent of St. Anthony), c. 1816. Painting by Nicolas-Antoine Taunay.
    View of Sugarloaf from the terrace of the Convento de Santo Antônio (Convent of St. Anthony), c. 1816. Painting by Nicolas-Antoine Taunay.
  • View of Sugarloaf from the Silvestre road, c. 1823. Painting by Charles Landseer.
    View of Sugarloaf from the Silvestre road, c. 1823. Painting by Charles Landseer.
  • Emperor Pedro I of Brazil (also King of Portugal as Pedro IV) with his crown and the Sugarloaf in the background, c. 1825
    Emperor Pedro I of Brazil (also King of Portugal as Pedro IV) with his crown and the Sugarloaf in the background, c. 1825
  • Sugarloaf and the Nossa Senhora da Glória do Outeiro (Our Lady of the Glory of the Hill) church as seen from the neighborhood of Glória, c. 1846. Painting by Eduard Hildebrandt.
    Sugarloaf and the Nossa Senhora da Glória do Outeiro (Our Lady of the Glory of the Hill) church as seen from the neighborhood of Glória, c. 1846. Painting by Eduard Hildebrandt.

20th and 21st centuries
  • Sugarloaf in 1914
    Sugarloaf in 1914
  • Military barracks near the Sugarloaf on fire after the communist uprising of 1935
    Military barracks near the Sugarloaf on fire after the communist uprising of 1935
  • The Sugarloaf wooden cable car between the 1940s and 1950s
    The Sugarloaf wooden cable car between the 1940s and 1950s
  • Higher aerial view, 1967
    Higher aerial view, 1967
  • View of the Sugarloaf from Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado.
    View of the Sugarloaf from Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado.
  • Cable cars from Sugarloaf Mountain.
    Cable cars from Sugarloaf Mountain.
  • View of Sugarloaf Mountain from seaward side; Corcovado and Christ the Redeemer are seen in the background.
    View of Sugarloaf Mountain from seaward side; Corcovado and Christ the Redeemer are seen in the background.
  • View of Rio de Janeiro from the Sugarloaf.
    View of Rio de Janeiro from the Sugarloaf.
  • Sugarloaf as seen from the Praia Vermelha (Red beach).
    Sugarloaf as seen from the Praia Vermelha (Red beach).
  • Botafogo Bay and Sugarloaf
    Botafogo Bay and Sugarloaf
  • Botafogo Bay and beach with Sugarloaf in the background
    Botafogo Bay and beach with Sugarloaf in the background
  • Aerial view
    Aerial view
  • Sugarloaf with Downtown Rio in the foreground
    Sugarloaf with Downtown Rio in the foreground
  • View from the city of Niterói
    View from the city of Niterói

References
  1. Monumento Natural dos Morros do Pão de Açúcar e da Urca (in Portuguese), SMAC: Secretaria Municipal de Meio Ambiente, retrieved 2017-01-15
  2. Allaby, Michael (2010). A Dictionary of Ecology (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-19-956766-9.
  3. Lonely Planet: Rio de Janeiro, page 76, Ricardo Gomes, John Maier Jr et al., 2006, Lonely Planet Publications, ISBN 1-74059-910-1
  4. "Sugarloaf Mountain". The Armchair Mountaineer. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
  5. "Rio's Christ statue closes and state of emergency decreed". ABC News (American). Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  6. "Brazil's Christ the Redeemer statue and Sugarloaf Mountain reopen Saturday". CNN. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  7. "Rock Climbing in Pao de Acucar (Sugarloaf), Rio de Janeiro".
  8. "Rock Climbing in Morro da Babilonia, Rio de Janeiro".
  9. "Rock Climbing in Morro da Urca, Rio de Janeiro".
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