because of the inconsistant  surfaces of  walkways, appropriate footware is essential - visitors should always wear shoes that are tightly laced and well-secured to the feet, or better yet hiking shoes.

in addition to pools of stagnant water, attention should be paid not to step on sharp or pointy objects like glass or rusty nails.

when eating in a favela, visitors should try and make sure the establishment is reasonably clean and the food is cooked in-house. a good indicator of the eatery's safety is the presence of a local crowd - in fact, a variety of great restaurants can be found in many of rio's favelas.

in many of the pacified favelas, such as those in zona sul, a number of restaurants are drawing international attention for the quality and innovation of their dishes. a famous one is las empanadas, which started in vidigaland beame so successful that it opened a store in the posh neighborhood leblon .