Visiting Sugar Loaf in Rio de Janeiro is extremely safe.

The whole Sugar Loaf complex in Rio is safe because it is surrounded by military institutions, patrolled by the police, and guarded by private guards. This is true at the street level where you find the ticket office (Station 1), at Urca Hill (the hill halfway to Sugar Loaf), or at Sugar Loaf itself (the last and highest hill). All locations are 100 percent safe.

The safest was to get to Sugar Loaf is by taking a yellow cab. It is inexpensive and fast (assuming that you are staying in Copacabana or some nearby district). Urca, the district where Sugar Loaf Mountain is located is also very safe. After visiting Sugar Loaf, you can safely take a taxi at the exit and head back to your hotel or proceed to visit another attraction nearby such as Corcovado Mountain (Christ the Redeemer statue), Maracana Football Stadium, Sélaron Staircase, or other must-visit sights — all very safe.

If you go to Sugar Loaf by taxi, you can definitely bring along your best camera — safety should not be a concern.

To learn more on how to safely visit Sugar Loaf as well as other updated and off-the-beaten path travel information, get a copy of Sugar Loaf: the definitive guidebook to visiting the Rio de Janeiro’s most famous hill.