Two Brothers hike safety: should you go guided or alone?

Two official voices speak about this hike, and they do not stress the same thing. Riotur, the city tourism authority, advises that favela visits go best with registered local guides, and recommends a local guide's company on the trails of Rio.^1,7 It describes one company of resident guides, set up in 2012 by a Vidigal resident, as offering the safety of people who know the place.⁸

The British government's travel advice is blunter. It calls the security situation in many favelas unpredictable and can be dangerous, says tourists have been shot after accidentally entering favelas, and tells travellers to avoid all favelas, including favela tours marketed to tourists.^9,10,2 The trail to Dois Irmaos starts inside Vidigal, a community Riotur itself lists among the favelas it suggests visiting with registered guides, so the two statements bear on this hike side by side.

We report both and do not settle the matter for you. A reader who follows the British advice to the letter should skip this hike, and our page comparing Rio's other hikes lists summits that start outside any community. A reader who accepts the city tourism authority's view should book a registered local guide and follow the rules below, and anyone set on a Two Brothers hike without a guide should read the section on going alone. Nothing on this page replaces the advice of your own government or of your hotel.

If you decide to go without a guide, know the plan before you leave. Riotur names the pitch of the Vila Olímpica as the trailhead and a moto-taxi from the community gate, quoted at BRL 10, as the best way up.¹⁴ The entrance is listed as Av. Pres. João Goulart 920, and the city's Moovit app plans the route there.¹⁵ That is how to do the Two Brothers hike, in outline.

The trail itself is 1.5 km and takes about 40 minutes up, with steep stretches and some that are not, and Riotur's pages disagree on the grade, one saying relatively easy and another moderate.^12,16,17 Neither Riotur nor the listing describes waymarks or forks in the path, so we cannot tell you whether the route is signed. Bring shoes with grip, sunscreen and repellent, and buy water in the community.¹⁸

Two practical limits apply to any independent hiker. First, the way from the entrance to the pitch passes through the streets of the community, which is where the British advice and the city advice meet. Second, nobody on the slope knows you are there unless you tell someone. Share your plan, your route and your return time with a person at your hotel, keep your phone charged and turn back at the first sign of weather or doubt.

British travel advice says thieves target mobile phones, particularly between 4pm and 9pm.²² If you are threatened, its advice is to hand over valuables rather than resist.⁴ Those lines are about crime in the city, not about the trail, but they explain why a hike that finishes at dusk deserves extra care on the way back to the hotel.

Take less than you think you need. Lock passports, extra cards and jewellery away at the hotel, take one phone, one card and a little cash, and zip them into a pocket. The same advice says to keep belongings close and to leave valuables off the beach.¹¹ A hike is no different from a beach in this respect, and a small waterproof pouch is all you need for the summit photographs.

Know the emergency number before you start. The number to call after a crime is 190, according to British advice, and your guide will know the fastest route to help on the slope.⁵ Save the number, and the address of your hotel, in your phone before you set out, and tell the guide at the start about any medical condition or allergy, since conditions on the hill are different from those in the street.