Rodrigo de Freitas Lake
ATTRACTION Keywords:
Cultural Experience,
Good Place to Relax,
Nature & Wildlife,
Shore Excursions,
Walking/Hiking,
Beach,
Lake
Named for a young Portuguese army official who lived in the area in the early 1700s, the history behind the glassy lagoon wasn’t always placid. The first Portuguese settler in the area, Rio governor Antonio Salema, slaughtered the indigenous Temoio Indians with smallpox-infected clothing when he arrived on the scene in 1575 to build a sugar mill. Subsequent conquests have been as recent as the 1960s, when residents of a favela built on a neighboring hillside were forcibly removed and the hill, along with the ramshackle dwellings, was flattened to make way for some of the high-class high-rises that exist today.
Latest Reviews
Review by Sarah L, May 2013
Doing what: Corcovado Mountain, Christ Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Mountain Day Tour
The tour was great and very informative the only negative point was that we was picked up fromour hotel an hour later than stated
Review by Rachel I, April 2013
Doing what: Corcovado Mountain, Christ Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Mountain Day Tour
Fantastic views and lovely day. The gray line tour was very good; especially our tour guide, Anna. She really took the time to explain things in different languages to all of us.
Review by Alyssa S, April 2013
Doing what: Corcovado Mountain, Christ Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Mountain Day Tour
The bus picked us up at our hotel right on time. The guides spoke excellent English and were very nice. The lunch was good. If you go to Rio you must do the full day tour- you shouldn't miss any of these and apparently the lines are much longer if you don't do a tour. The only criticism is that they had 1/2 day tourists on our bus so we had to bring them back to their hotels midday which took time. But overall, I would highly recommend this tour for Rio. Viator has always been reliable in my experience with great customer service.
