We spent a month in Brazil between December 2025 and January 2026 to escape the Portuguese winter and visit family who live there, and it was wonderful. We stayed a week in Búzios and three weeks in Rio de Janeiro, and one day in Rio we decided to take the children to see the famous Christ the Redeemer statue.
Before going up to Christ the Redeemer
We bought the tickets at official website, choosing the option Paineiras Corcovado, Because we wanted to take the official train for the attraction and not the vans driven by unknown drivers. It's always good to be careful in Rio, right?
We arrived 40 minutes before the time we had purchased (5:40 PM) and to our surprise, there was no power and many people were unsure what to do. We decided to wait a bit and soon the power came back on, allowing us to exchange our online vouchers for paper tickets. I have no idea why the online ticket wouldn't have been sufficient for entry, but anyway… we followed the procedure indicated by the staff present.
We waited in a considerable line because there were people from previous trains who also wanted to board, but when we sat down on the little train, it was pure joy. What a delight to go up the mountain through the rainforest! You really don't need air conditioning on the train because the windows are open and the forest keeps everything nice and cool.
We made a stop along the way, where some people boarded the train, and then we continued to the disembarkation station.
Up there already…
We climbed some stairs – but there's an elevator and even escalators – and voilà – we were seeing the most beautiful view of Rio de Janeiro. What a spectacular place!
It had been years since I'd been to Corcovado, but I remembered it as a remarkable experience. No photo does justice to what we experienced up there, but I'll leave some pictures here for you:
Ah, we chose to go at the end of the day to try and see the sunset and to escape the almost 40-degree heat, and it was wonderful to see the different colors of the sky with the view of the city. Of course, it was packed with tourists, but I think it's practically impossible to go up there in the summer on a beautiful, cloudless day and not find a crowd, so it's best to go prepared with patience.
I didn't see any nice restaurants up there, but there are restrooms and a prayer area. There are vendors selling drinks and snacks at the entrance to the visitor center, so it might be worth buying something there before going up. It's best to bring your water bottle and snacks so you don't have to come down because you're hungry or thirsty and miss out on the experience.
We got off on one of the last available trains (I think the last one was at 8 pm) and took an Uber home without any stress. Oh, there's no parking there, so the best way to get there and back is by Uber or taxi, so download the safest apps in Rio and... Have fun! I don't recommend hailing a taxi on the street, because the driver might have bad intentions and ruin your trip.
Now, more photos from this delightful stroll through the marvelous city:
