Another Side of Rio

Take a tour of one of the most misunderstood places in the world, slums. From the balcony of your Rio de Janeiro hotel you may clearly see the illuminated Christ the Redeemer statue on Corcovado Mountain, but do you see the other lit hills? Favelas are the essence of Rio, yet few people make the effort to visit the Brazilian shanty towns.

Typical of many cities, the rich live right next to the poor. Rio’s favelas are surrounded by a beautiful peak on one side and an upper class neighborhood on the other. Many of these barrios sit atop Rio’s best real estate, enjoying views from the mountainside.

Approximately 20% of Rio’s population calls one of the city’s 750 favelas home. This is a large part of society that is largely ignored by the rest of the city’s citizens. Many favela tours are on the right track to bring about a positive change for Brazil.

You may encounter Brazilians that tell you never to enter a favela as they are dirty and unsafe. Ignore their warnings and take a favela tour. Guides will guarantee your safety and most favela tours benefit the local community. Positive favela tours aim to promote awareness rather than exploit the residents. Open your mind and your heart and you may discover that slum’s aren’t no-go areas dominated by drug lords.

A good favela tour should explain that less than 0.5% of the population is involved in the drug trade, yet the entire community undeservingly receives a bad name. Many of the favelas residents are the waiters, maids, and honest working people of Rio. Favelas have become more integrated into Brazilian society in the past 15 or so years, but more work needs to be done. Residents and visitors of Rio need to recognize that ignoring the favelas is not the solution. The answer is to promote favelas through music, culture, sports, and other social initiatives.


This guide to favela tours in Rio de Janeiro was written by a Brazil travel expert at Brazil For Less available to help you custom design your exciting Brazil tours.