Hikers and climbers typically  experience the Peaks Circuit, which begins at Praça Afonso Vizeu and includes the must sees of pico da tijuca(Tijuca Peak, 1021m), the second highest point in the city after the pico da pedra branca in nearby parque estadual da pedra branca, and the pico do papagaio(parrot's peak, 987m), the most popular peak of the park and offering unique views of the Barra and Recreio beaches, as well as views of all the reforested trees in jacarepaguá.

extremely popular are also the hiking/climbing trails which include pedra bonita(693m), where visitors can watch and even experience the exciting sport of hang gliding and the pedra da gávea(844m), a granite monolith used long ago by navigators as a reference point for its unique shape, and now offering fantastic views from its outcropping.