Pedra da Gávea, meaning Topsail Rock, is the biggest monolith on a coastline of the world: 842 mt of granite above the sea level, in Tijuca Forest. It is a magnetic rock, surrounded by legends and having features of a human face. The trekking trail is on Estrada do Sorimã (Barra da Tijuca) and takes from 2 to 4 hours. It is simply outstanding and quite difficult: to reach the top of Pedra da Gávea you need to climb a wall of 30 mt, nearly vertical. But the view from the top is sublime: Tijuca rainforest, Corcovado, Pedra Bonita and Two Brothers Mountains, the Sugarloaf, the lagoon, the beaches and the islands, the ocean and the city of Rio all at a glance.

The legend. “LAABHTEJBARRIZDABNAISINEOFRUZT” – this is the inscription carved in the rock. Which, in Phoenician, means “Here Badezir, King of Tyre, Jetbaal’s oldest son”. And this is really a mystery, because Phoenicians never came here! The inscription was not reported until the 1800s, but in the meanwhile it gave rise to many stories…