You can’t walk up to Sugar Loaf (without involving rock-climbing), but you can easily hike up to Urca Hill on a beaten walking route.
One the most popular hikes in Rio is the one that leads up to Urca Hill. Urca is the intermediary hill on the cable car route to the summit of Sugar Loaf, and can be reached by cable car or by hiking up the hill on a forest trail.
Walking at a reasonable pace, you’ll find that the path is reasonably steep. The walk up to Urca Hill takes about 25 minutes to complete. There is no need for hiking or rock-climbing equipment, but the trail may be muddy or slippery if it has rained recently. It is very popular on the weekends.
Hiking up to Urca Hill is very safe. Since the hiking paths are in frequent use, there is little chance of encountering local animals such as small snakes or monkeys. Muggings are unheard of since the area is surrounded by military institutions.
To learn other important details on how to hike up to Urca Hill as well as how to rock-climb and visit Sugar Loaf in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, get a copy of Sugar Loaf: the definitive guidebook to visiting the Rio de Janeiro’s most famous hill.