Christ the Redeemer

This is the Christ the Redeemer live cam, streaming in real time from the summit of Corcovado mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The camera is trained on the statue itself (Cristo Redentor in Portuguese), so you can see right now whether its outstretched arms are clear against the sky or lost in cloud before you head up. It is one of our Rio de Janeiro webcams, free to watch 24/7.

What the Christ the Redeemer webcam shows

The statue stands on top of Corcovado, a granite peak about 700 meters (2,300 feet) high inside Tijuca National Park. From that height it looks down over Guanabara Bay, the Sugarloaf and the South Zone beaches, which is exactly why weather matters so much here: low cloud can swallow the whole figure in minutes and clear again just as fast.

In daylight the live stream shows the soapstone surface of the statue and the changing sky behind it. Like our other monument webcams, it runs around the clock, and night is worth a look too. The statue is floodlit after dark and is regularly lit in colors for causes and dates, such as pink in October for breast cancer awareness.

Is Christ the Redeemer covered in clouds today?

This is the question most people ask before going up, and the webcam answers it faster than any forecast. The live feed on Corcovado was set up precisely so visitors could check visibility before buying a ticket, and the operator sorts conditions into good, low or no visibility.

If the statue is sharp on the Christ the Redeemer live stream, the view from the platform should be too. If you see a white wall, wait an hour and check again: cloud on Corcovado can lift as quickly as it rolls in, and the beaches below are often in full sun while the summit is hidden.

Christ the Redeemer facts: height, history and UNESCO status

Christ the Redeemer was built between 1922 and 1931 and inaugurated on October 12, 1931. Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa designed the structure, French-Polish sculptor Paul Landowski shaped the figure, and Romanian sculptor Gheorghe Leonida modeled the face. The frame is reinforced concrete, covered in thousands of small soapstone tiles.

The statue is 30 meters (98 feet) tall, or 38 meters (125 feet) with its pedestal, and the arms span 28 meters (92 feet). It weighs about 635 metric tons. Being the highest point around has a price: a lightning strike in 2014 chipped a finger on the right hand, and repairs are part of regular maintenance.

In 2007 the statue was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. In 2012, Corcovado and its statue became part of the UNESCO World Heritage site “Rio de Janeiro: Carioca Landscapes between the Mountain and the Sea”, together with the Sugarloaf and Tijuca National Park. At the base of the monument, the small Chapel of Nossa Senhora Aparecida, consecrated in 2006 for the 75th anniversary, still holds Masses and baptisms.

How to get to Christ the Redeemer

There are two official ways up, plus a hiking trail.

Corcovado Train. The cog railway leaves from Cosme Velho station, at Rua Cosme Velho 513, and climbs through the Atlantic Forest of Tijuca National Park in about 20 minutes. Running since 1884, the Corcovado Train is Brazil’s oldest tourist ride and carries more than 1.5 million people a year.

Official vans. Vans leave from Praça do Lido on Avenida Atlântica in Copacabana, from Largo do Machado next to the metro station, and from the Paineiras Visitor Center on Estrada das Paineiras. Every van stops at Paineiras, about 15 minutes below the statue, before the final climb. The Copacabana stop is a short walk from the sand you can watch on our Copacabana Beach live cam.

Hiking trail. Fit walkers can climb from Parque Lage through the forest in roughly two to three hours. Go in a group, start early and check current conditions with the park before setting out. At the top, escalators and elevators added in 2003 spare visitors most of the stairs up to the viewing platform.

Best time to visit Christ the Redeemer

Go early or late. The first departures of the morning and the last ones in the afternoon have smaller crowds and softer light, and a late visit can end with sunset over the city. Weekends, public holidays, the Christmas and New Year period and Carnival are the busiest times of the year.

Clear skies matter more than the calendar. Rio’s summer brings more afternoon showers, while the drier winter months, roughly June to August, tend to give longer spells of clean visibility. Whatever the season, a quick look at the webcam on the morning of your visit tells you more than any monthly average.

Keep the Christ the Redeemer webcam open as your cloud check, then browse more live webcams from around the world while you wait for the sky to clear.