at a glance

andaraí is a neighborhood located partially in the north zone (zona norte) of rio. this bairro (neighborhood) is located in between the districts of tijuca, camper village, vila isabel and grajaú.

it is also one rio's oldest neighborhoods. the bairro's (neighborhood's) originally spelling was andarahy and while its name may have originally been rio joana (joana river), the indigenous tupi peole called it andara-hy açu or, the great river of bats.

in the sixteenth century, jesuit priests colonized this settlement specifically to cultivate it. this area, as many other of the surrounding areas was an important sugarcane area.