Rio de Janeiro - Lapa and Santa Teresa

I go to Rio...de Janeiro

Brazil's first Portuguese colonial masterpiece needs no introduction. After all, it stars in so many bossa nova classic songs such as Copacabana, Girl from Ipanema and as my mother pointed out, Peter Allen's cheesy classic I go to Rio. It's barely a fifth of the size of Sao Paulo, but Rio de Janeiro is in many respects the pulsating heart of Brazil.

From its steep rainforest-covered outcrops overlooking squeaky clean apartment towers and precariously perched favelas clinging to the sides of the hills, this bayside city oozes energy from every oraface. Although probably most known for its beaches, there are endless things to see and do Rio's city centre and inner ring of suburbs, Lapa and Santa Teresa.

Walk a few streets this way and that, and the urban landscape changes completely. The commercial centre of Rio is, like most major cities, pretty non-descript, but just a few blocks over in the bohemian district of Lapa, the streets are lined with the plastic tables and chairs of Brazilian-style bars called botecas, restaurants and samba clubs.

Street murals in Santa Teresa

Lapa attracts big crowds on the weekends, especially on Friday night when its main drag Mem da Sa closes for a carnaval-style street party. Drumming troupes wallop out driving rhythms to the crowds drinking and dancing all over the street. Music erupts from the samba clubs lining the main drag, and there were also several clubs open in nearby alleyways. On one section, on a median strip underneath Lapa's giant white Roman-style aqueduct which splices the district in half, street vendors sell beer, popcorn, hamburgers and delicious Brazilian churrasco - an exotic word for chunks of grilled meat on skewers. But if you didn't want to leave your place in the crowd to go and get a drink, it didn't matter. Guys with trays of caipirinhas, Brazil's ubiquitous sugar-cane cocktail, circulated through the crowd.

While the party is on every night in Lapa - which in the past well-to-do locals wouldn't touch with a barge pole as it was a seedy, depraved red light district - Fridays is the night to go and experience it. Unfortunately the samba club owners realise this, and charge hefty entry prices for acts that on other nights you can go and see for free. We refrained from paying a cover charge, and instead opted to revel in the street outside the clubs, where you could still hear the music.

Colonial mansions of Santa Teresa

The street party attracts a diverse crowd. Everyone was there, from well-dressed groups of girls on the prowl to pickpocketing favela youths - one wandering hand dived into the pocket of my dress, where luckily there was only a map and some lip balm. There were even a few old guys busting a move outside the samba clubs at 5am. One guy with a toothless grin was asking us for money one minute, and then laying down his moves with us the next!

Lapa's parties showcase Rio's diversity in its full splendour, but the stark contrasts between the haves and the have nots are more blatant when you take a walk up any one of its steep hillsides. Giant, swanky white apartment blocks line the beaches and the trendy suburbs around the city centre, while rambling colonial mansions are tucked into the hillsides of leafy neighbourhood Santa Teresa. Its cobblestoned streets, lined with concrete retaining walls, are decorated with an amazing variety of street art, from council-commissioned murals, to throw-up graffiti pieces to all types of weird and wonderful characters and other spray-painted decorations.

One of Rio's many favelas

The area is quite mixed, with everything from schmick mansions to run-down tenements and even a giant castle jutting out of the hillside. Then there are the favelas, which occupy the steeper parts of the hillsides. Santa Teresa has no less than six separate favelas, interestingly all of which are marked on google maps, perched a stone's throw from stately colonial mansions protected by big rendered walls and razor wire. It is easy to make a wrong turn and accidentally stumble into a favela. It would be easy to get lost in the maze of streets but thankfully there is a tram line on the main one winding up the hill, which ferries people to and from the Corcovado, atop which the behemoth concrete Christ the Redeemer sits.

Santa Teresa's open-sided trams, or bonde as they are known locally, are an iconic part of this hilltop suburb. But tragically the day after we visited the area, there was a horrific accident where one of the trams lost control, skidded 50 metres down a hill and then hit a lamp post. This nearly sliced the tram in half and left 5 people dead and 27 injured. The accident made the bbc news and took place just minutes from our hostel. Some people staying there were walking up to take the tram and arrived on the scene right after it happened.

Visiting the famous Cristo, recently voted by internet poll as one of the new seven wonders of the world, is readily do-able by either tram, bus or simply walking up the hill. To admire the statue itself it is easier to go to one of the surrounding hills. The main point of going to the statue itself, and paying the entrance fee, is to admire the stunning 360 degree city views. Its height and central location means you can see all the weird and wonderful pockets of Rio, from the south zone and the beaches, to the city centre and all the way up to the less wealthy northern region.

Looking out to the Sugarloaf and the Atlantic beyond

The problem is, the weather isn't always amenable to a pretty Cristo sighting and Corcovado visit. Many tourists get their way up the hill, only to discover that the statue is shrouded in clouds, making it impossible to see the city laid out below. This was the case when we walked up the hill - so instead of going up to the Corcovado and paying the entrance fee, we opted for the lookout on a lower hill opposite. Looking out across the city, we didn't quite get the same panorama but were still able to see out to the beaches and over the coastline to Rio's other hilltop stunner, the Sugar Loaf, an almost vertical lump of rock that sits on a peninsula jutting out to the Atlantic.

There is so much to see in Rio that we thought it easier to try out two different neighbourhoods - the samba capital Lapa and leafy Santa Teresa for the weekend, and then relax at beachside Ipanema and neighbouring Leblon for a few days afterwards. It´s not always fun staying in the middle of a big, bad city but fortunately we lucked in on a fantastic hostel which made our stay so much better. Books Hostel is located in the heart of Lapa, right near the arches under which the weekly street party takes place. It´s a great place to hang out and meet people, and owners Renato and Felipe are really friendly and helpful and create a relaxed vibe.