the
sugar loaf mountain (pão
de açúcar) looms large on the skyline over looking rio de janeiro's
harbor.
the granite colossus is one of the city's major tourist
attractions located at the mouth of guanabara bay, in the
neighborhood of urca. this site adorns postcards the world over.
some debate surrounds the origin of the name of
sugar loaf mountain,
but perhaps the most acknowledged is the account of historian
José Vieira Fazenda, who stated that the portuguese settlers named the mountain
'pão de açúcar' due to its appearance.