RIO DE JANEIRO'S “LAGUNA” AND BEACHFRONT TOUR - 21K
Runner on the ground - SIDHARTA
Discover some of the main spots for runners in the Marvelous City on this half marathon. Lulled by the sounds of the Atlantic waves and the rhythms that flood the streets of Rio, we’ll visit historic buildings, natural beauty and landmarks of national culture.
Our journey will start at Leblon beach, from where we will follow the decorated Ipanema promenade to Arpoador, the place that inspired Tom Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes to compose the world-famous classic “Girl from Ipanema”. Here, visitors and locals gather daily to admire and applaud the sun setting behind The Two Brothers Hill. Our tour then cuts through Garota de Ipanema Park, an oasis of greenery in the middle of the city and a good place to hydrate and stretch your legs before continuing on to Copacabana Fort. From this point, from where we will see part of the fort’s walls and learn a little about its history, we will run along the waves of the Burle Marx-designed promenade, bordered by the golden sands of Copacabana.
Our next stop will be the most famous Brazilian hotel, the Copacabana Palace. With its architecture that combines various styles, the hotel is famous for hosting presidents, royalty and rock stars! This combination has earned the hotel a place in the popular imagination, with people visiting it every day.
From the “palace” we head to the other end of Copacabana, the cozy and quiet Leme neighborhood. Here, on this stretch of Copacabana, another brazilian military landmark sits atop a rock in an environmentally protected area. Also known as the Leme Fort, the Duque de Caxias Fort was founded in the 18th century to protect the Guanabara Bay region from spanish invaders.
Leaving Leme behind, we head to the birthplace of the world-famous Bossa Nova rhythm, the Bottle’s Alley. From this hidden corner in the bowels of Copacabana came the rhythm whose hallmark was the mixture of samba and jazz and which launched names like João Gilberto, Elis Regina, Vinícius de Moraes and Tom Jobim to stardom.
Lulled by the bossa nova, we’ll head towards the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon. From the bike path that surrounds the lagoon, we’ll see Christ the Redeemer and Gávea’s Rock (the largest seaside monolith in the world), finally arriving at the Alah’s Garden, a serene spot that connects the lagoon to the ocean, where we’ll start our run.
Join me and complete a half marathon in some of Rio’s main postcards!
Bonus info:
Although entry to the Copacabana Fort is not included in our tour, a visit to the top of the Leme Fort is possible if it is open at the time of our tour. It’s a climb of 900 meters to go and 900 meters to come back, so it’s a bit of a challenge!
PICK-UP SERVICE
Pick-up service from your hotel/apartment or another meeting point is possible and will be checked by the tour provider individually. If your hotel/apartment should be too far away from the city centre or not close to the tour route, then we will meet you at our standard meeting point.
MEETING DETAILS
The tour provider will get in contact with you to provide you with more detailed information after the tour was booked. Please, bring along your mobile phone in case we need to contact each other.
WHAT IS INCLUDED?
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- Private guide/tour
- Individual pace
- Digital photos
- Tour route
- Pick-up service
- Water
Richard Sleboda –
I always go for long city runs when traveling, but this was the first time I signed up for a run with a local guide, and I’m glad I did! Sid was great from the start giving me advice on getting around in Rio before we met up, and it was great to see his friendly face at the meetup point. Sid’s a big guy so I was worried if I could keep up but he set a pace that was just right for me and we had a great time running part on the sidewalk and part on the Rio’s world-famous beaches, chatting the whole way about Rio and Brazil, about running, and about our lives. I learned so much and truly felt I made a friend in Rio over the course of our run. It was great to hear about Sid’s running history (relatively recent, as I was surprised to learn!), his work (teaching philosophy) and his name (no, he doesn’t have Indian heritage) and he warmly welcomed me back to Rio to do some trail running. Sid also took some great photos for me and shortly after we said goodbye he followed up with a nice video montage of our run which is a great keepsake. Of course goes without saying that I felt totally safe running with a local (although I think I would have felt safe anyway in that area during the day). Only disappointment from our run was that there were no capivara sightings around the lake… 😉 Thanks a million Sid, and good luck with your upcoming marathon!
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