views from rocinha are beautiful and diverse, encompassing são conrado, corcovado mountain, the lagoa rodrigo de freitas, and a golden stretch of beach below - one is also likely to be greeted by the sight of hand-gliders and the impressive favela pastime of kite-flying.

because of its impressive size and territorial scope, rocinha has developed a very eclectic and buzzing character, and the great expanse if divided into roughly 21 sub-districts, which span different qualities of infrastructure.

these microcosms form an exuberant whole, with the streets always alighting with cheery residents and a tangible sense of community, exhibiting and exuding an array of scents, sounds and activities.