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.