Sugarloaf Mountain hosted fossil adventure until 18 October

Sugarloaf Mountain (Pão de Açúcar) in Rio de Janeiro hosted Aventura Pré-Histórica from 5 to 18 October 2026. The programme brought fossils, replicas and paleontology activities to Morro da Urca, the first stop on the cable-car route.

Aventura Pré-Histórica ran until 18 October

The Museu de Ciências da Terra, part of Brazil's Geological Service, and its SGBeduca education programme joined the activity with Parque Bondinho. The official programme ran from 5 to 18 October 2026, between 10am and 5pm, at Morro da Urca in the park. The venue and dates are set out in the official programme notice.

Visitors encountered fossil excavation and painting, a dinosaur-themed race, origami workshops, interactive games and a fossil laboratory. The programme also included storytelling sessions at 11am and 3pm. Replicas and material from the museum collection were used to explain traces of past life through practical activities.

The event has now ended, so travellers arriving after 18 October 2026 should not expect these activities at the mountain. Its timing nevertheless gave the park a public setting for the museum's outreach work while the museum's own historic building undergoes restoration.

How the programme connected with Sugarloaf Mountain

Morro da Urca is the first station reached from Vermelha Beach. The second cable-car section continues to the summit, linking the family programme with the transport system that has defined visits to the mountain for more than a century.

The first section opened in 1912, connecting Vermelha Beach with Urca Hill, while the second section to Sugarloaf Mountain opened in 1913. The operator's history of the cable-car park records those milestones and places the highest station at 396 metres above sea level.

The setting also carries formal heritage status. UNESCO includes Sugar Loaf and Urca among the hills forming the cultural landscape of Rio de Janeiro, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2012. The mountain's role in the October programme was therefore practical as well as symbolic: its visitor infrastructure temporarily hosted scientific material connected with a museum under restoration. UNESCO describes the World Heritage cultural landscape and its protected hills around Guanabara Bay.

Visiting Sugarloaf Mountain: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• Aventura Pré-Histórica took place from 5 to 18 October 2026 at Morro da Urca, inside Parque Bondinho.
• The fossil workshops and dinosaur activities ended on 18 October 2026; they are not part of a visit after that date.
• The entrance is at Avenida Pasteur 520 in Urca, in southern Rio de Janeiro, near Botafogo and Copacabana. The operator identifies Botafogo as the nearest metro station and lists the SP-513 bus connection to Avenida Pasteur.
• The visit uses two cable-car sections, first to Morro da Urca and then to the Sugarloaf summit. The park includes viewpoints and walking areas on the hills, with the summit reaching 396 metres.
• Brazil's official language is Portuguese and its national currency is the Brazilian real.
• Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.

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Frequently asked questions about Sugarloaf Mountain

When did Aventura Pré-Histórica take place at Sugarloaf Mountain?

The programme ran from 5 to 18 October 2026 at Morro da Urca in Parque Bondinho.

What is Sugarloaf Mountain?

It is a 396-metre mountain above Guanabara Bay, reached by a two-section cable-car route whose first section opened in 1912.

Where is Sugarloaf Mountain and how do you get there?

It is in Urca in southern Rio de Janeiro. The park entrance is at Avenida Pasteur 520, with Botafogo identified as the nearest metro station.