Sugarloaf Cable Car Sugarloaf Cable Car The Sugarloaf Cable Car () is a cableway in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Moving between Praia Vermelha and the Sugarloaf Mountain, it stops at Morro da Urca (at ) on its way up and down, and reaches the summit of the mountain. The cableway was envisioned by the engineer Augusto Ferreira Ramos in 1908 who sought support from well-known figures of Rio's high society to promote its construction. Opened in 1912, it was only the third cableway to be built in the world. In 1972 the cars were updated, growing from a capacity of 22 to 75,
Sugarloaf Mountain Monument, created in 2006. This became part of a World Heritage Site declared by UNESCO in 2012. The name "Sugarloaf" was coined in the 16th century by the Portuguese during the heyday of sugar cane trade in Brazil. According to historian Vieira Fazenda, blocks of sugar were placed in conical molds made of clay to be transported on ships. The shape given by these molds was similar to the peak, hence the name. A glass-walled cable car ("bondinho" or, more formally, "teleférico"), capable of holding 65 people, runs along a route between the peaks of Sugarloaf and Morro da Urca