Cluster · Rio de Janeiro
Lapa and Escadaria Selarón
Daytime-only cluster: Selarón steps and the Arcos da Lapa before 16:00, then leave; the area gets rough late and the cafés along Mem de Sá suit lunch.
Map to the centre
Add your hotel to get directions from it. · stays in this browser; shared with the pocket card.
Rules in force · 6After dark, use a ride-hailing car between clusters
- Brazil ↗Visa rules differ by passport and have changed in recent years (some nationalities now need an e-visa): check with Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs or your nearest Brazilian consulate before booking.
- Brazil ↗Yellow fever vaccination is recommended for many areas, including the Amazon and Pantanal; check with a travel clinic at least 10 days before travel.
- Brazil ↗Keep your phone out of sight in the street and on beaches; phone theft is the most common crime against visitors in big cities.
- Rio de Janeiro area ↗Cloud hides the mountain views on many mornings: keep the Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf days flexible.
- Rio de Janeiro ↗Phone snatching is the main crime against visitors: keep your phone in a front pocket or a zipped bag, not in your hand on the pavement or on the beach.
- Rio de Janeiro ↗After dark, use a ride-hailing car between clusters; do not walk the beachfront edges, Lapa side streets or Santa Teresa slopes.
Walking weather, next 5 days
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Forecast: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0), model data for this point.
Bound and physics
Arcos da Lapa, Rua Joaquim Silva and the Selarón steps on Rua Manuel Carneiro.
- Slope
- mixed
- Stairs
- Steps at Selarón and the Arcos
- Shade
- low
- Surface
- cobbles and pavement
- Sleep here or visit
- visit
Eat and drink here
A long-running Lapa bar and restaurant for lunch after the Selarón steps: go at midday, not late evening, and take a car afterwards.
Rescue anchors
A — Escadaria Selarón steps (field-verify)
seated_rest · valid: always
B — Arcos da Lapa square (field-verify)
seated_rest · valid: always
C — Avenida Mem de Sá café (field-verify)
food · seated_rest · ac · valid: always
D — Rua Joaquim Silva corner (field-verify)
food · valid: always
E — Rua do Lavradio café (field-verify)
food · seated_rest · ac · valid: always
always: 100% covered, max p90 5.7′, worst cell 5.7′ · heat: 100%
Nodes in this cluster
- Escadaria Selarón (Selarón Steps) — Ten to twenty minutes on the tiled steps in daylight: photograph, then leave by car; avoid the side streets and evenings.
Edges out (directed)
- Cosme Velho and Corcovado
- Car south · ~18 min
- Copacabana beachfront
- Car south-east · ~25 min
Red lines here
- Do not stay in Lapa after dark unless with a group; go back by car.
Around this cluster
Straight-line distance; walk time adds 30% for streets.