There are in excess of 600 favelas (slums) in Rio de Janeiro. Yes, there are many favelas. How many people live in favelas? How big can a favela in Rio de Janeiro be? How many houses are there in a favela?
Are there schools in favelas? sewage? water? markets? hospitals? streets? churches? How safe a favela tour is? Who live in favelas?
It seems that there are many questions to be answered. If you are really interested in learning about Rio de Janeiro favelas, and possibly interested in visiting one, I suggest you take a English-speaking guided tour of a safe Rio de Janeiro favela.
I’ve been to favelas hundreds of times, and have taken more than 3.000 tourists — from a wide variety of nationalities — for a walk inside favelas in Rio de Janeiro. They have all survived — so have I.
Here are a few short answers to some of the questions above:
How many people live in favelas?
Rio de Janeiro has 6.3 million inhabitants. Approximately 20% of those — roughly 1.2 million people — live in favelas. There are also favelas in other regions and cities in Brazil. In fact, several million Brazilians live in favelas.
How big can a favela in Rio de Janeiro be?
Small favelas have a few dozen houses and a few hundred people. Big favelas have thousands of inhabitants. Rocinha, the largest favela in Brazil and located in Rio, has more than 70,000 people.
Are there schools in favelas in Rio de Janeiro?
Only very large favelas have public schools.
How safe a favela tour is?
In general a tour of a favela made by a reputable operator is safe. However, the safest favela tours are those made in favelas that have been pacified several years ago. In other words, favelas that no longer belong to a drug lord.
Who live in favelas?
The vast majority of people living in favelas are low-income hard-working decent people. In fact, if you visit a favela in the middle of a weekday, you will not come across many locals as most of them are at their workplaces somewhere in Rio de Janeiro or nearby.
Planning a trip to Rio de Janeiro, and a visit to a favela?
Get your copy of My Rio Travel Guide, which presents self-guided (or guided) tours not only to favelas, but also to Rio’s main attractions such as Christ the Redeemer Statue, Sugar Loaf Hill, Santa Teresa, and many other sites.
Click below to start discovering the REAL RIO!
