ilha pontuda (pointed island) is part of the tijuca archipelago, directly facing barra da tijuca in rio de janeiro - this is the island that can be seen as a backdrop to all the kite surfers that practice at praia do pepê.

the other islands in the chain are ilha do meio and ilha alfavaca.

though the nearby cagarras islands are also popular diving spots because of their biodiversity, the tijuca islands tend to have superior underwater visibility (up to 16 meters) due to their distance from guanabara bay and the underwater emission pipe at ipanema.