Yes, with someone who lives here beside you. We were born in Rocinha and we still live here. This is how we actually run every tour, when we call one off, and what to bring, so you can decide with the real picture.
Ask us anythingWe were born in Rocinha and we still live here. We know the streets and the people on them, and one of us is beside you from the moment we meet until you leave.
Book for two and it is the two of you. We never add strangers to fill a slot, and we never run vans.
We go only where and when it is calm. We live here, so we know what the day looks like before you arrive.
Every tour we run is logged in the Favela Turismo app, the official register for tourism inside the community.
We only call a tour off for two reasons: very heavy rain, or a police operation. Operations are rare in the favelas that receive tourists: last year there was one. When it happens, we cancel for the day and only go back once the Favela Turismo program says things are back to normal.
A good part of the route is on foot, uphill and down. Comfortable clothes and shoes you can walk in are all you need.
Rio gets hot, and there is climbing. Bring a bottle.
Not because someone will take it, but because on a day like this it is easy to lose something. Bring little and there is nothing to keep track of.
Take photos. Where they are not allowed, we tell you before you get there. In the alleys, where you are right beside people's homes, ask before you shoot. If you are not sure, ask us.
We started guiding this year, and more than 100 guests have come up the hill with us since. This is one of them, on exactly this question.
We at no time felt unsafe, the cousins walked one in front one behind us the whole time.
John Morris · Google