Flying over Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Activities for the Intrepid SoulBy Nelza Oliveira
Known worldwide as the Marvelous City, Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, congregates with such a unique harmony 
of urbanization and nature, with its exuberant forest, sea, and mountains coupled with glorious tropical weather. The wonderful mountains that surround the city are an invitation for adventure sports.
Adrenaline-seekers can take advantage of the many parks, the Corcovado, the mountain where the huge statue of Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) stands, and Sugar Loaf, one of the two mountains linked by cable cars that take visitors to the summit. There are plenty of places for hiking, trekking, rock climbing, hang gliding, paragliding and whatever else intrepid souls can imagine. There are also agencies for just about any adventure excursion.
The paradise in Rio for hang gliding and paragliding is Pedra Bonita, 520 meters (1,600 feet) high. Experienced pilots offer tandem flights jumping off Pedra Bonita onto Pepino beach, for the price of 150USD including transfer to your hotel,. No experience is necessary. It only requires courage.
The ages of the visitors vary from eight to eighty. Before the flight, the pilots give you some lessons, basically an incentive class and advice to run in the ramp and to wear sneakers. The pilots can register your experience in photo or video during the flight, a service you pay for separately.
The seasons in Rio are very much similar, so they don't interfere in the sport. The enthusiasts of the sport guarantee that Pedra Bonita is one of the best places in the world for hang gliding and the only ramp on the planet that is located within a capital city. The greatest advantage of the place is the take-off ramp next to the place of landing. 
While you wait your turn to jump, you can enjoy the view and see some little monkeys playing around. During the 10 to 20 minute flight, depending on air currents, the view is breathtaking, you can see a great part of the most known symbols of the city: Corcovado, the Sugar Loaf, Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, a lake surrounded by parks, bike paths, and leisure areas, the multi-colored forest, the Favela da Rocinha, considered by many as the largest shanty in Latin America, and Pedra da Gávea (Gávea Rock), a mountain 842 meters high, dipping into the Atlantic ocean. It's peaceful and quiet.
The operating hours, depending on the weather, are from 8am to 7pm (sunset). Our guide and pilot in the hang gliding adventure was Miguel Tavares, with 30 years of experience and more than 20 of them in tandem flights.
Rio de Janeiro is also the center of rock climbing in Brazil. The city is full of granite domes with plenty of routes. The most popular place for rock climbing and mountaineering is the area of the Sugar Loaf, with the highest number of established climbing routes from the easiest to the hardest, which can last a few minutes or even two days. It's also an area of easy access and security. São Conrado neighborhood and Tijuca Forest, the biggest urban forest in the world, have also many routes, from medium to hard levels.
The most difficult routes are in Corcovado. Equipment is expensive but readily available in the many stores
of Rio and in many clubs rent equipment too. The best period for climbing is from April to October when the temperature is more pleasant and the weather is stable. In the summer from December to March, people still climb, but less frequently because of the rain, lightning storms, and very hot temperatures common in this period of the year.
Our guide in the rock climbing was Pedro Bugim. He explains that in general it is very cheap to take part in the excursions, be they rock climbing, hiking or trekking, around 17USD. However, if you need a private guide for a specific route, the prices vary from 32USD to 220USD.
There are also many trails in the parks of Rio for hiking and trekking. Tijuca National Park, inside Tijuca Forest, for example, has mountainous terrain and high peaks. Hikers can climb the 1,012 feet to the summit. One of the best hikes is up the back of the Sugar Loaf. The summit reaches 1,302 feet high. Mountain biking on trails is very popular in the parks of Rio. There are many trails for the addicts to this sport. Vista Chinesa, in Tijuca forest, is a great spo with hard downhill trails. There are also easier trails in Parque da Cidade, in Gávea neighborhood.
Resources:
http://www.riosuperfly.com.br
http://www.riotandemfly.com.br
http://www.ceb.org.br
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