favela tours have become a very popular excursion amongst visitors of rio, providing them with rare insight into the vibrant and eclectic communities that are scattered around the city - there are nearly 1000 favelas in metropolitan rio, mostly climbing the mountains and hills of the city, and they are home to around 20% of the city's  population. 

in recent years, through large scale government and police operations, a large number of these favelas have been 'pacified', meaning that the police have gained control of the territory from drug cartels and organized crime - this has made them much safer for visitors and has bolstered what is known as 'favela tourism'.