Rio’s Best View: Morro Dois Irmãos Hike

The view we had at the top of the Morro Dois Irmãos hike was one of the best we had in Rio and the best part of it, it’s super cheap too! Read this guide for all the information on how you can get to the viewpoint, what the hike is like, how to get to the trailhead & the costs.

Morro Dois Irmãos translates to ‘two brothers hill’ and is essentially two mountains which crop out from the jungle below with epic views of the Ipanema & Leblon and Christ the Redeemer. It is located just above the Vidigal favela, however this favela is a pacified favela so is relatively safe for tourists when you take the right precautions, more on that below.  

The hike is short but steep, but most importantly doable for most people, if you have a reasonable level of fitness & mobility.

Hike Overview

🗺️ Location: Vidigal favela, Rio de Janeiro

📏 Length: 1.5 km each way

🕘 Duration: approx 1 hour up and 1 hour down (depending on how comfortable you are going downhill)

🥵 Difficulty: Moderate-hard. It’s short but steep in parts

💰 Entrance fee: R$10 per person (+ R$10 each way on the mototaxi to get to the trail head)

💰💰 Total cost: R$30 (£4.20 / US $5.50)

🌄 Best time to go: Early morning for sunrise or before noon to avoid heat & on a clear day for the best views

🥾 AllTrails link: Irmão Maior via Trilha Dois Irmãos

Entrance costs

You need to pay a small fee at the trail head of R$10 (£1.40 / US $1.80) to hike the trail. Payment is taken in a small shop at the beginning of the trail. The shop also sells snacks and drinks if you need anything before you go up.

You can pay the hike fee either in cash or by card payment. 

How to get there?

1️⃣ Step 1: Get to the Vidagal Favela

You will need to take some kind of transport to get to the bottom of the Vidigal favela. This favela is pacified and safe, so don’t worry about travelling towards this area.

Request your Uber/taxi to drop you off at the Praça do Vidigal. In this area you will find loads of people in hi-vis jackets on motorbikes to take you up to the trailhead.  

Just head to that area, and flag down someone. There is no need to know much Portuguese, they all know why you’re there and what you want to do. Just mention ‘Morro Dois Irmãos’ to be sure. 

If it’s your first time on a mototaxi, make sure to read this section below.

2️⃣ Step 2: Take a mototaxi to the trailhead

Ubers, Uber motos, taxis don’t drive up into the favela here. The only way is to go via a mototaxi (or a van if you have booked a tour in advance).

The mototaxi will cost you R$10 each way and will drive through Vidigal favela. If you aren’t used to being on the back of a bike, you’re in for a treat! At any point, if you feel unsafe, just hold on to your driver (they’re used to this), either with your hands on their shoulders or lightly round their waist. If you are more comfortable you can hold onto the handles behind you by your seat.

The mototaxi will drop you at the corner of the road and you need to walk towards the astroturf area where you will find toilets and the entrance straight ahead (don’t walk further up the hill).

On the way back, wait at the place you were dropped off and the mototaxis will come to you. We waited for around 5mins before 2 free mototaxis came. 

For our thoughts on how to get around Rio and more travel/safety tips check out our Rio de Janeiro: Ultimate Guide & Safety Tips Before You Go

How long does the hike take?

The hike took us about 1 hour to get to the top and about 1 hour down. If you are very fit and comfortable with hiking quickly it might take you only 40mins to the top and some people even say they got down in 30mins.

For me (Hannah), I get a bit nervous on steep declines when walking so it took us a while to walk down compared to normal.

For the average person I think the hike could take anywhere between 40mins – 1.5hrs up and 30mins – 1hr down. 

There are plenty of stops along the way to take breaks from the steep inclines, including 2 pretty amazing look outs over the favela on the left. 

About half way up you will find a stop point with a small shop selling drinks and snacks. Here is a good place to grab a beer to take up to the summit, so you can celebrate your achievements! 

The view from the top

Firstly, UNREAL! Take a look at these pics:

We did have a bit of cloud coverage, so every now and then the view would disappear but we spent so much time just sitting and enjoying the view!

If you go for sunrise, make sure you have time to sit above the city in the dark to see all the lights before the sun starts to rise giving way to that perfect view. 

Do I need a guide?

Not really. We didn’t use a guide and we went at 8am for our hike. The hike itself follows a reasonably straightforward path (we followed it on AllTrails too) and isnt too difficult to manage alone. If you are experienced with travel and hiking you probably dont need a guide.

A guide however will provide you with interesting information and help with the route if you are going before sunrise i.e. you will be hiking in the dark. A guide also might be beneficial if you are unsure about how to get the mototaxi, feel unsafe in the favela without a guide, and to take pictures at the top. You can book onto hikes online or join a group hike with a hostel/tour company.

It is totally up to you. A guide is not required at anytime to do the hike, but might be a nice addition to your experience. 

To sunrise or not to sunrise

We didn’t go at sunrise. We saw lots of pictures and videos of people who go for sunrise & it looks amazing.

Being there for sunrise means you get to see the most incredible view of the sun coming up over the city and lighting up the sea, the nature & the buildings. Sunrise hikes also give you such a sense of the beauty of the world. The price of the hike remains the same and you can stay up there as long as you like after sunrise (unless you have a guide, although you could probably end the tour at the top and head back down yourself whenever you want).

People’s pictures are stunning and part of us maybe wishes we did this, but we went at 8am instead, and we had such a good time, and didn’t have to compromise on sleep.

Reasons why we didn’t do the hike at sunrise

1. We didn’t want to wake up at 2:45am. When we were in Rio the sun rose at 5:13am. This would have meant we would have had to start the hike at 3:45am at the latest, take the mototaxi at 3:30am, get in our Uber from Copacabana at 3am, which meant waking up at 2:30am.
2. We didn’t want to be in a huge crowd. It is no surprise this is a popular activity and I bet the sunrise is amazing. However, we don’t like crowded spaces, especially where there is limited space on a rock at the top with sharp drops (!).
3. We didn’t want to hike in the dark. We like hiking, and doing it in the dark isn’t as enjoyable for us (even though the views are mainly forest, we like to take pictures of the birds, and see the viewpoints)
4. It can be cold & windy whilst waiting for the sun to rise. We had no idea how long the hike would actually take us, but we wouldn’t have wanted to be late for the sunrise at all, which probably means we would have been there too early (lol) and had to sit and wait in the cold & the wind

Instead we left our accommodation at 7:15AM and started our hike at 8am.

Reasons why we liked the hike at 8am instead

• We woke up at a reasonable time
• It wasn’t too hot yet
• We saw only 5 people coming down as we went up
• There was max 10 people at the top at when we arrived
• The view was amazing in the day light
• We saw more people heading up as we went down (so starting your hike earlier is better)
• The shop is open half way up giving you time to stop for a drink or buy a drink to enjoy at the top
• We felt safe driving through the favela in the day light
• We were never cold, and the wind at the top was a lovely breeze after a short but sweaty hike

Facilities

🚻 Toilets: Before the entrance to the hike there are toilets. The ladies toilet didn’t have a lock when we went so take a friend to stand guard. There are no toilets on the hike.

🧉 Shops: there is a small shop where you can buy your tickets and also a shop half way up that sells drinks & snacks

🏧 ATM: there is not an ATM close to the hike, however you can use card to pay for entrance to the hike. You will need cash to pay for the mototaxi, so bring this in advance. 

What to bring with you

• Sturdy shoes like walking sandals or trail shoes, or shoes with grip 
• Sun protection for the summit – cream, hat, sunglasses
• Water
• Snacks
• Cash for the mototaxi & entrance (you can pay for the entrance by card)

Best time to do the Morro Dois Irmãos hike

1. Arrival before sunrise 
2. before mid-day – the earlier the better so you’re not hiking in the heat of the day
3. Arrival before sunset – however hiking back down in the dark can be challenging

When not to hike Morro Dois Irmãos

We wouldn’t recommend hiking during or after heavy rain. Some bits of the hike are very steep and slippy even when dry. I can’t imagine what it would be like in the rain. Also with rain the probability of a good view at the top is drastically reduced.  

One of the main reasons to do the hike is for the view at the top. Make sure you have a good visibility day before attempting the hike, otherwise you will be disappointed. 

It is also recommended not to wait too long to hike back down after sunset, as the paths might be less clear in the dark. On the way up in the dark there are plenty of people to follow and less chance of slipping when hiking up,compared to descending in the dark.

Mototaxi guide

You will need to drive through the Vidigal favela to get to the trailhead. We would not recommend walking through the favela yourself (even though it is pacified). Locals and tourists alike use the mototaxis which are used to driving through the favela (at speed!) to get you there safe & sound. 

Once you have arrived at the mototaxi point (Praça do Vidigal), locate the area with the mototaxis. If you are facing away from the sea, the area should be right in front of you – the spot with lots of motorbikes and people in hi vis jackets. 

Take any mototaxi & driver and tell them you want to go to Morro Dois Irmãos. They are very used to tourists asking for this trip in the area. 

They might stop and ask you on google translate if you want a guided drive up and through the favela for a cost. We said no on this occasion, but it is useful to know that if they stop a few mins in, this is probably what they are doing. 

The cost (as of October 2025) is R$10 per person per way. Each mototaxi only takes one passenger. This is payable in cash.

The drive takes around 5-10 minutes to get from the bottom of the favela to the trail head. 

Mototaxi top tips:

• Hold on tight! They go fast, but are very used to the drive. It might feel unsafe but you are fine. Hold on to their shoulders or lightly round their waist for more stability, especially going up hill
• Agree the cost beforehand, it should be R$10 (ten in Portuguese is ‘Dois’ pronounced ‘de-sh’. Pay them when you reach the trailhead.
• Don’t take pictures or videos inside the favela or on the bike – you need both hands to stay steady on the bike!
• Don’t rest your foot on the exhaust pipe (usually on the left). When disembarking, leave off the right hand side to avoid you skin brushing against the hot exhaust too.

Pacified favela meaning

We have mentioned a few times in this article that Vidigal is a pacified favela. A ‘pacified favela’ refers to a favela in Brazil that has been the target of the government’s ‘pacification’ policy, which aims to reclaim territory from criminal gangs by establishing a permanent police presence and later implementing social services.

This has been successful in a few favelas in Brazil, including Vidigal. This makes the area much more safe for tourists, however as with everywhere in Brazil it is important to always be aware of your surroundings.

What to do after the hike

There isn’t too much to do in the area after completing the hike. We would recommend taking the mototaxi back down and ordering an Uber to your next activity. 

Your next activity could look something like this

• Relaxing on the beaches of Leblon or Ipanema
• Seeing the iconic Copacabana beach
• Checking out one of the Wonders of the World: Christ the Redeemer
• Admiring another view from Sugar Loaf Mountain
• Walking round the beautiful Parque Lage or the Botanical Gardens
• Checking out some of the amazing museums
• Going on a walking tour of Downtown or Santa Teresa
• Joining onto a food tour to experience the best of Brazilian food 
• Retail therapy in Ipanema
• Visiting the Selaron Steps 
• Take a helicopter tour around Rio
• And more…

Why not check out our top 16 things to do in Rio de Janeiro, for more ideas on what to do after your Morro Dois Irmãos hike!