located in arpoador, an unofficial neighborhood of rio's zona sul between copacabana and  ipanema, two sister beaches rank high in the world of local surfing - praia do diabo, and praia do arpoador, separated by the famous pedra de arpoador (arpoador's rock).

praia do diabo (devil's beach) is 500 meters long, however only about 100 meters are accessible to the public, as most of the beach is a military area part of the forte de copacabana - this beach is named devil's beach due to the strong waves typical on high tide, however, this beach is often a very calm and peaceful corner of the zona sul.