On Tuesday morning, the 18th, a group of pilgrims climbed Monte Cardoso Fontes, located on the banks of Grajaú-Jacarepaguá, in the Southwest Zone of Rio de Janeiro, for religious practices in the Tijuca Forest. The site has been frequented by evangelicals who hold prayer mountains, but also by practitioners of druid rituals, revealing the diversity of spiritual uses of the park.
The faithful dress differently for the hike: men wear suits and women wear dresses or long skirts with veils. On their feet, they wear leather shoes, slippers, or flip-flops, instead of the typical sports equipment of those who do two-hour hikes. The goal is not physical exercise, but connection with the sacred.
The article mentions that during a week, O GLOBO traveled through different areas of the Tijuca National Park to document these uses. The text also references IBGE data on horizontal expansion in cities in the state of Rio de Janeiro with royalties and in the Serra region, as well as mentioning the Favela do Estado in Rio, which would be being swallowed by the sea.
