Rio Tour - Guide to Forte Duque de Caxias

Forte Duque de Caxias - Leme Fort
Forte Duque de Caxias is located at the end of Copacabana beach in the area known as Leme.
This is a fort that today also funcion as a military entity. Even so, it is open for the public between 09.30 and 16.30 from tuesday to sunday.

Getting to Forte Duque de Caxias
The fort is at the absolute end of Leme, so if you stay in Ipanema you get there by taking bus or taxi.
Buses going there are generally mini-vans marked - Leme.
If you plan to visit the fort you should be physically fit as getting to the top of the fort is a 800 meters walk straight uphill.
This is a walk that is not uncommonly taken by school classes, so it is not extremely demanding, but does require that you enjoy taking a walk.

If you enjoy walking you can also get there by taking metro to Cardeal Arcoverde and walk from there to the end of Leme.
It will take around 15-25 minutes but you are afterall walking by Copacabana and Leme beach so it is quite enjoyable, provided that the weather is not too bad.

When in Leme the entrance of the Fort is about 100 meters from the beach, near the parking lot.

History of Forte Duque de Caxias
The fort is from 1776 and therefore built before the royal family came to Rio in 1808.
The current fort is, however, much more recent from 1913 and built in connection to Copacabana fort which is located on the opposite side of Copacabana beach.

	The view from Forte Duque de Caxias If this was a place where you needed a tour guide to visit it would have been marketed as a "must visit". Walking up through the forest you will meet birds and tons of lizards. When you finally get to the top you will get to see the entire Copacabana Beach.

From the top of the mountain you will have view of the Favela Babylon in addition to Copacabana and Leme Beach.

No reason to stop long there, as you will get same view from the top of the fort in addition to view of Sugarloaf and the entrance of Guanabara Bay.

Sugarloaf seen from Forte Duque de Caxias

When you get on the top you will be able to see Sugarloaf from an angle you probably not have seen it before.

With view of Copacabana, Sugarloaf, and the seaway access to Rio de Janeiro, the strategic importance of the fort becomes apparent.

Entrance of Guanabara Bay

On the opposite side of the Bay you see the fort of Santa Cruz da Barra.

What you see in this picture is the only access point by the ocean to the city center of Rio de Janeiro and the historically significant areas of Botafogo and Flamengo. You also see the strategic position of these two Forts guarding the entrance.