during the day, vidigal can easily be seen from the city beaches and more spectacularly at night when the lights of the favela light up the side of the dois irmãos mountains like a christmas tree.  see picture (link)

vidigal's privileged location created much domestic and international interest in developing the favela into a resort or a luxury neighborhood so to take advantage of its beautiful ocean and mountain views.  as of today,  none of  the commercial real estate development efforts have been successful.

while most favelas in rio are 'out of sight' of the wealthy parts of town, vidigal is an important part of the cityscape of the zona sul of rio, next to two of the  richest neighborhoods of the city.