rio's western zone, or zona oeste in portuguese, is home to a number of beautiful strands - often overlooked by visitors due to its distance from the city's center and main attractions, the area is progresively growing and becoming everyday more frequented.

joá is one of the first neighborhoods of this zone, known for the small, semi-private and incredible beach of joatinga (link to joatinga) - jacarepaguá is a neighborhood adjacent to barra da tijuca and parque nacional da tijuca popularly known for being home to the community cidade de deus, which is used as a backdrop in the movie city of god.