Rio’s Sugar Loaf Cable Car Celebrates 107th Anniversary

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Regarded as one of the most beautiful tourist spots in Rio de Janeiro, the cable car is an attraction for residents and visitors from other states and countries.

In addition, it is set in a natural landmark for sailors who cross in front of Guanabara Bay, as well as a geological one, since it features precise dating of the Earth’s history.

As a historical landmark, its foundation was the place where Estácio de Sá founded the city of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, on March 1st, 1565.

In 1909, the Brazilian engineer Augusto Ferreira Ramos founded the company Caminho Aéreo Pão de Açúcar, which inaugurated the first route between Praia Vermelha beach and Morro da Urca hill in 1912.

The following year, the second stretch was inaugurated, connecting Morro da Urca to Pão de Açúcar. In 1972, the cable car’s second generation resulted from a modernization introducing cabins with a new design and doubling the lines.

The cable car’s third generation appeared in 2008 and now features a digital control and power system, in addition to tinted and anti-reflective windows and a ventilation system. In 2016, the system was once again modernized and renovated.

Among the trivia published on the cable car’s website is information on the origins of the name Pão de Açúcar, which has different historical versions, one of which states that historian Vieira Fazenda believed that the Portuguese gave this name to the hill because of its similarity to a mold, made of wood or metal, used to store the sugar blocks that were shipped to Europe.

Source: Agência Brasil

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