Rio: Santa Marta Favela Walk & Michael Jackson Statue Tour

4.91

(337 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

“You ever tried feijão like this?” our guide, Paulo, grinned as we squeezed past a doorway painted electric blue. I hadn’t — not in someone’s actual kitchen, anyway. Santa Marta felt nothing like what I’d pictured from TV. The alleys twist and climb so sharply my legs started complaining halfway up, but every corner had something — kids chasing a football, old men playing cards under a tangle of wires, the smell of frying garlic drifting out of windows. The view over Guanabara Bay just sort of appeared between two rooftops; I stopped talking mid-sentence when I saw it.

We reached the Michael Jackson statue (yes, really — he shot a video here) and Paulo told us how the whole neighborhood turned out for filming back in ’96. A couple of women laughed at my attempt to say “obrigado” with the right accent. Craft shops lined one stretch — wood carvings, bright fabrics — and someone was selling cold guaraná out of a cooler. It was humid but breezy; you could hear samba echoing somewhere above us.

The best bit? Sitting in Paulo’s own house with his family. His daughter handed out tiny plastic cups of something sweet and strong (I never caught the name). We watched an old video about Santa Marta’s history on his TV while his mother fussed over snacks. There was this moment where everything went quiet except for distant music and the clink of glasses — I still think about that calm. The tour ended at the residents’ association where we talked about how things have changed here. I left feeling like I’d seen more than just another side of Rio — it was personal somehow.