Brazil has world-class rock.
This is how you climb it.
Most climbing guides to Brazil are either in Portuguese or embarrassingly vague. This one tells you the grade, the approach, the rack, the nearest hospital, and where to eat after.
Build Your Trip
How long do you have? Where do you want to go?
Sugarloaf Morning Burn
Rio de Janeiro
1 route · Intermediate — comfortable 5.10
Pai Inacio Sunset Scramble
Lencois
1 route · Approachable intermediate — any 5.8 climber comfortable
Farofa Waterfall Slab + Swim
Santana do Riacho or BH day trip
1 route · Moderate — 5.9 sport
Pedra da Gavea — Rio's Crown Jewel
Rio de Janeiro
1 route · Strong intermediate — comfortable at 5.9, physically fit
Pedra Azul — The Blue Dome
Domingos Martins
1 route · Intermediate — 5.9 multi-pitch experience recommended
Rio Double Header: Urca + Gavea
Rio de Janeiro
2 routes · Intermediate — 5.9 multi-pitch + 5.10 sport
Serra do Cipo Progression
Santana do Riacho (pousada)
2 routes · Progressive — day 1 moderate, day 2 hard
Rio Climbing Grand Tour
Rio de Janeiro
3 routes · Intermediate+ — solid 5.10 sport required, some 5.11a trad on day 2
Top-Rated Routes
The three highest-rated climbs in Brazil, by climbers who have done them.
Morro Dois Irmaos — Northeast Ridge
★★★★★The two granite spires of Dois Irmaos overlook Ipanema and Leblon from the south — you've seen them in every Rio postcar…
Chapada Diamantina — Vale do Pati Sport Wall
★★★★★The Vale do Pati is Brazil's backpacking-plus-climbing objective — a 3-day hike-in wilderness valley with sandstone wall…
Pedra da Gavea — Via Normal
★★★★★Pedra da Gavea is the iconic granite massif that watches over Rio from the southwest. The Via Normal takes 8 pitches up …
Why This Guide?
There is no shortage of vague climbing blog posts about Brazil. This is something different.
Exact Grades
Both Yosemite Decimal System and French grades on every route, not vague difficulty ratings. Know exactly what you are getting into before the approach.
Nearest Hospital
Every route includes the hospital address and phone number for the base city. Brazil is safe to climb — and knowing where help is makes it safer.
Where to Eat After
Specific restaurants near each climb with honest price ranges in BRL. Because after 8 pitches you deserve a cold beer and good food, not a tourist trap.
Four Regions
Each region has different rock, different logistics, different seasons.
Rio de Janeiro
3 routes — granite domes, sport, trad, multi-pitch above the city
Minas Gerais
2 routes — quartzite canyon walls inside Serra do Cipo National Park
Bahia
2 routes — sandstone mesas and sport walls inside Chapada Diamantina
Espirito Santo
1 route — the famous blue granite dome, 1,822m above the highlands