A fierce fight on the zipline in Rio de Janeiro

A row of infected words erupted about the future of the famous mountain peak. The ongoing construction of a 755-metre zip line has been met with fierce opposition from a group of city residents who have joined together in a protest movement.

– this is not true. It will tarnish a UNESCO World Heritage Site, says psychologist and climate activist Griselle Osorio Hor-Mel during a demonstration in Rio de Janeiro.

The possibility of sliding down the mountain attached to a cable is believed to attract large numbers of thrill-seeking tourists to the already well-visited attractions at the mouth of Guanabara Bay.

– It’s bad for the city and bad for the environment, says Hor Mill.

night parties

The company behind the project, Parque Bundinho, began work last year and plans to complete it by mid-2023. Four zip lines will connect Sugar Peak to nearby Urca Peak for what is being marketed as a “unique, environmentally sustainable experience.”

However, critics say the project risks harming the local environment and wildlife, which they say is already being negatively affected by helicopter flights for tourists and night parties on the mountain.

57-year-old protester Hans Rauschmayer says the company uses Sugarloaf “as if it were private property”.

– But in fact, it is a treasure that belongs to Rio, Brazil, the whole world.

“Do you kill the top of the mountain?”

The list of names against the project has collected more than 11,000 signatures. Activists are calling for a broader public discussion of the plans, which they warn are only “the tip of a giant iceberg”. A larger building project currently under review by the authorities includes shops, a concert arena and a nightclub on the mountain.

– It’s terrible, terrible. It would kill the mountaintop, protester Regina Costa de Paula said.

Tropical green Sugar Peak offers a wide panoramic view of Rio de Janeiro, the city’s famous beaches and the statue of Christ on Mount Corcovado. The park, which includes both Sockertoppen and Urca, attracts around 1.6 million visitors annually, many of whom reach the summit using a cable car that opened in 1912.