Ask any worldly traveler what the world’s sexiest city is, and the chances are relatively high that Rio de Janeiro is on top of the list. From seductive Samba dancing to the world’s largest outdoor party held each year before lent the all-inclusive Rio Carnival, the “CidadeMarvilhosa” (Marvelous City) enchants all takers who grace its presence.
As Cariocas, synonymous to Rio’s locals, is adorned with lush tropical landscapes and supermodel beaches, there’s a world of culture, agri-tourism, epicurean delights, and adrenaline adventures to keep you off the coast for a while. Here are four excursions off the beach.
Carnival Experience (behind the scenes)
What is linked more to Rio more than Carnival? Suppose you miss immersing with the crowds of two million revelers per day walking and partying in the streets and entering the Sambadrome. In that case, you can take a glimpse behind the scenes of the biggest show on earth by spending an afternoon with the passionate Carnival and Samba school authority at Carnival Experience.
Preparation for Rio’s main event is an arduous task, including thousands of people behind the scenes beginning up to a year in advance. You’ll delve right into the creation of floats, costumes, dance troops, musicians, and choreographers. You’ll be fitted and dress in costume for the ultimate photoshoot at the end of the tour.
www.canivalexperience.com
Cooking in Rio (prepare a meal with a local chef)
Learn the intricacies of the Brazilian kitchen with passionate, joyful, and witty star chef Simone Almeida. Begin your culinary journey with a quintessential sugar cane Caipirinha cocktail. You’ll feel right at home assisting Chef Almeida, preparing Brazilian culinary comforting meals in small groups in the cozy Copacobana kitchen created for intimate guest gatherings.
Taking the trip upon arrival or early in your holiday allows you to delve into Carioca culture with a greater understanding of the melting pot of cultures in this incredible seaside metropolis. Simone’s passion for her environment is a highlight of any trip to Rio. You enter the class with a group of strangers before the cooking course, and as the lesson culminates, you’ll depart, having made friends for life.
www.cookinginrio.com
Stay on a plantation on a farm
The Vale do Cafe is an agri-tourism region located three hours north of the Rio city center most noted for its opulent restored plantation houses known as Fazendas. You can book a room in a handful of grand farmsteads which date back to the colonial period of the 18th and 19th centuries—the decorated estates’ akin to the American south showcases an era when coffee and sugar cane fields were the main crops.
Sao Luiz de Boa Sorte and Fazenda Las Palmas are two of the Fazendas where guests can spend the night. Most include breakfast, and some also serve dinner. These renovated manor houses are a step back in time and mix styles of stately decor—an educational journey into the lives of the Portuguese aristocrats who settled on these massive homesteads.
www.valedocafeturismo.br
Soar high above Rio on a tandem hang glider
Rio is one of the top destinations for adventure sports. If your a thrill seeker and hang gliding have eluded you but remains high on your adrenaline bucket list, few backdrops are as astonishing as Rio’s verdant mountain cliffs. On the southside of Sao Conrado Beach, you can’t miss the soaring pterodactyl-like giant gliders who gracefully land in the golden sand.
As Fabio, my instructor, mentioned, almost anyone can tandem hang glide. There is no skill set involved. You have to be able to run about 20 feet off the mountain then settle in as your instructor takes over. Wind determines the length of the flight, but 10 to 20 minutes is the average time. The journey begins as you soar over rainforest-clad mountains. Photographers meet you at the beach landing flight school office hut on Sao Conrado to preserve a most likely once in a lifetime experience in photos.
www.rioasadelta.com.br
