Rio From Above: Barra da Tijuca to the Reserva
The Passport Pour
Most people meet Rio de Janeiro at eye level: Copacabana's mosaic sidewalk, the line for the Christ statue, the cable car up Sugarloaf. Take one minute and look at it from the sky instead. That's where you see what the postcards leave out: the city is an argument between mountains, lagoons and the Atlantic, and the water keeps winning.
My parents are from Rio. So I don't do the tourist version of this city, and I won't sell you a tour of it. Brazil is home. What I can show you is the side of Rio that cariocas head to when they want room to breathe: the West Zone, where the beaches get longer, the sand gets emptier and the mountains stand back far enough for you to see them whole.
The video that goes with this piece flies over two places: Barra da Tijuca and the protected stretch of coast called the Reserva. Here's what you're looking at, and how to take it in once your feet are on the ground.
Barra da Tijuca: the long view
The video opens on a bright, cloud-streaked morning over Barra da Tijuca, and the first thing you notice is the sand. Barra's beach runs about 18 kilometers, from the rocks of Morro do Joá all the way to Recreio. That makes it the longest beach in Rio.
Behind the beach, a canal threads between the houses and towers, carrying water from Barra's lagoons out to the sea. A bridge crosses it, and the mountains on the right are the edge of the Tijuca range. Barra hosted much of the 2016 Olympics, and the city built a lot to get ready, from venues to a subway line.
The corner closest to the camera is Jardim Oceânico, the oldest and most walkable part of Barra. It has low three-story buildings and a neighborhood feel, closer to Ipanema than to the malls and high-rises farther down the coast.
The Reserva: Rio left wild
Then the light changes. The second half of the video drifts down the coast in late-afternoon haze, and the city falls away. On the left is a still lagoon ringed with green. On the right, waves roll onto an empty beach. Between them runs a single road, Avenida Lúcio Costa, with cars moving along it.
This is the Reserva de Marapendi, about 665 hectares of protected coast between Barra and Recreio. It shelters restinga (the low, salt-tough scrub that grows on coastal sand), mangroves and birds like the channel-billed toucan. The beach here, Praia da Reserva, has soft white sand, very few vendors and a lot of room. You'll share it mostly with surfers and fishermen.
On the horizon is the mountain that has watched over this coast the whole time: Pedra da Gávea. It rises about 844 meters, roughly 2,770 feet, out of the Tijuca Forest. Look closely at one side and the weathered rock looks like a face. Geologists say that's erosion. Cariocas have been telling stories about it for generations anyway.
How to take it in on the ground
Ride the subway to Barra. Line 4 opened for the 2016 Olympics and runs from the South Zone to Jardim Oceânico. It's about 13 minutes from Ipanema. At rush hour, the same trip by car can take an hour.
Eat in Jardim Oceânico. The bars and restaurants are clustered on Rua Olegário Maciel and Rua Érico Veríssimo, a short walk from the station. Go for a long lunch, then walk it off on the beach.
Shop on Avenida das Américas. BarraShopping is one of Brazil's big malls. It's where you go for Brazilian swimwear, sandals and beauty products when the boutiques in Ipanema feel too small.
Come to the Reserva prepared. There are very few kiosks, so bring water, snacks and shade. The water is clean but cold and rough. Watch the flags, and when the red one is up, stay on the sand.
Go late in the day. The second half of the video shows why. In the late afternoon, haze settles on the mountains and the light turns gold. That's the best time for photos, and for doing nothing at all.
One minute of Rio
Sixty seconds won't show you all of Rio, and nothing will. But it shows you what the city is made of: green mountains, long stretches of sand and water everywhere. Cariocas build their days around those three things. Watch it once for the view, then a second time and notice how much of this city is still wild.
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