Corcovado
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Corcovado_mountain.jpg
Corcovado mountain
Corcovado, meaning "hunchback" in Portuguese, is a mountain in central Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The 710-meter peak is located in the Tijuca Forest, a national park. Corcovado mountain lies west of the city center but wholly within city limits and visible from great distances. It is known worldwide for the 30-meter statue of Jesus that graces its peak. The statue is called Christ the Redeemer, but is locally known as Cristo.
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Access
The peak and statue can be accessed via a narrow road or by the 3.8 kilometer Corcovado Rack Railway which was opened in 1884 and refurbished in 1980. The railway uses two-car electrically powered trains, with a passenger capacity of 360 passengers per hour. The rail trip takes approximately 20 minutes and departs every half hour. Due to its limited passenger capacity, the wait to board at the entry station can take several hours. The year-round schedule is 8:30am to 6:30pm.
From the train terminus and road, the observation deck at the foot of the statue is reached by 222 steps, or by elevators and escalators. Among the most popular year-round tourist attractions in Rio, the Corcovado railway, access roads, and statue platform are commonly crowded.
Attractions
The most popular attraction of Corcovado mountain is the statue and viewing platform at its peak, drawing over 300,000 local and international visitors per year. From the peak's platform the panoramic view includes Rio, Sugar loaf mountain, Copacabana beach, Ipanema beach, and several of Rio's favelas. Cloud cover is common in Rio and the view from the platform is often obscured. Sunny days are recommended for optimal viewing.
Notable visitors to the mountain peak include Pope Pius XII, Pope John Paul II, Alberto Santos-Dumont, Albert Einstein and Diana, Princess of Wales.
An additional attraction of the mountain is rock climbing. The south face had 54 climbing routes as of 1992.
Geology
The peak of Corcovado is a granite dome, which describes a generally vertical rocky formation.
Other
Corcovado also refers to a national park in Costa Rica.de:Corcovado (Brasilien) pt:Corcovado sv:Corcovado