Favela Tour in Rio de Janeiro

Description

Venture into a Rio de Janeiro favela (the Brazilian version of a shanty town) on this half-day educational tour. See the day-to-day lifestyles of locals who live in Santa Marta, one of Rio’s many dense favelas. With a local expert guide, you’ll travel inside the favela, interact with locals and gain a new understanding of Brazilian society.

We are sensitive to the issues and concerns surrounding favelas and we understand that this tour may not be suitable for everyone. We strongly believe that the purpose of this tour is for educational reasons alone and allows for a better understanding of Brazilian life inside a favela. Furthermore, the local tour operator is charged a rate by the Santa Marta favela, and as a result, money is going back into the Santa Marta community.

Built around the edge of Brazilian cities, favelas are underdeveloped, overcrowded settlements, many of which over time create their own organizations and become their own small communities. Rio consists of 500 different favelas and with a third of the city’s population living in these towns, the socio-economic differences between the favelas and the city of Rio are very apparent. However, in recent years, favelas surrounding Rio have become more urbanized with the building of some houses, installation of electricity, running water and practicing proper sanitation practices. 

On this tour, your guide will take you to the hillside favela of Santa Marta, located in the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro. Santa Marta was the first “pacified” favela and have had a police base there since 2008.  Upon arrival, you'll travel on foot to a craftsmanship store and walk through a cultural center. This will allow you to interact with the locals and give you an up-close look at living conditions, lifestyles and day-to-day life inside a Brazilian favela.

 

Additional information

Inclusions

Exclusions

Schedule details

Departure point

Tour departs from most Rio de Janeiro hotels

Departure time

8am

Return details

Returns to original departure point