the tijuca archipelago sits less than a mile south of the carioca neighborhoods of barra da tijuca, located in the west zone.

the archipelago consists of ilha do meio, ilha alfavaca, ilha pontuda, and to the west ilha das peças and ilha das palmas (grumari) - in addition to many small islets called lajes das tijucas.

ilha do meio, ilha alfavaca, and ilha pontuda are the official tijuca islands, right across from barra, while ilha das peças and ilha das palmas are somewhat separated and face grumari, but are informally considered part of the tijuca islands by many.