Rio de Janeiro: Sugar Loaf, Christ, and the Light Between the Peaks

Rio de Janeiro is built across a series of granite massifs rising from the Atlantic coast. Sugarloaf Mountain (396 m) sits at the mouth of Guanabara Bay facing east and south; from the cable car upper station, Guanabara Bay spreads east with Niterói beyond and the bay mouth opens to the Atlantic. Christ the Redeemer (709 m total, statue at 38 m on Corcovado) stands west of the city centre and faces all four directions: at sunrise it receives the first direct light from the east while the bay below still lies in shadow. Ipanema Beach faces south; from the Arpoador rock on its eastern end, sunrise comes over the water from the southeast. The Dois Irmãos (Two Brothers) peaks at 533 m frame Leblon Beach from behind. At -22.9°S, golden hour lasts about 26 minutes. Summer (December through February) sunsets turn the Atlantic horizon and the mountains orange simultaneously.