a few years later, in 1877, three english men, j. oliver, e. benest, and j. branner became the fourth, fifth and sixth people to climb sugar loaf but they wisely placed a brazilian flag on the mountain's summit as to not offend. 

the brazilian emperor, dom pedro ii, also known as 'the magnanimous', received a special welcome when he returned from a journey abroad to find the word 'hail' residing on top of the mountain.

much of sugar loaf mountain is bare, revealing the rugged granite surface, but there are sporadic patches of green vegetation, remnants of the atlantic forest, which contains a huge diversity of rare plant species and animals.