Magnificent Cristo

Cristo Redentor on top of Corcovado Mountain

Magnificent. That best describes how it felt coming face to face with Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) on top of the 2,300-feet high Corcovado Mountain in Rio de Janeiro. The statue, about 130 feet tall and the 5^th largest statue of Jesus in the world, was massive and imposing that it was overwhelming at first sight.

Looks perfectly sculpted. But a lightning during a violent storm in 2008 apparently struck it, damaging its fingers, head and eyebrows that it had to go through a restoration effort.

Maybe it was because of the massiveness of the statue or the low-lying clouds enfolding it, but the experience was sublime and at the same time humbling.

Constructed between 1922 and 1931, the statue is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone. There’s a small chapel under it.

It was wrapped in clouds almost the whole time I was there. In a way it made it look more glorious.

When I decided to take a trip to Corcovado and see the statue, I had images of an unobstructed and breathtaking view of Rio, its mountain chains, bays and the ocean – grander than the scene from Sugarloaf Mountain, a much lower mountain which I had visited a few days earlier.

Corvocado Mountain, which means “hunchback” in Portuguese, as seen from Sugarloaf Mountain at sunset

Corcovado Mountain on the extreme left. Super loved the view.

The statue is lit in green at night. Lovely Rio at night!

It turned out Corcovado’s summit was covered in clouds that morning I was there because it rained earlier. I couldn’t see anything of Rio from the top and had to wait for the brief moments that it would clear and I could see distinctly the Christ’s face. I stayed there for about 40 minutes hoping that it would completely clear so I could have an uninterrupted view of the Christ and a panorama of the whole of Rio.

It was very glary every time it would clear.

But no, I had only seconds of clear view of the Christ and not even a glimpse of Rio’s panorama. While I thought that time it was a waste to have missed a glorious view of Rio from the top of Corcovado, in retrospect it let me have a different experience – a rare and humbling one.

To get some view of Rio, there was an option to go down to a lower part of Corcovado. Bad hair and migraine after going down the cloudy yet glary summit.

Some view of Rio from a lower part of the moutain

More on Rio soon…

Filed in: travel Tags: Christ the Redeemer • Corcovado Mountain • featured • Rio de Janeiro • Sugarloaf