Main SitesXerém to Petrópolis, Brazil: Imperial Mountain Driving Tour
Welcome to the climb from Rio de Janeiro's hot coastal plain into the summer world of Brazil's emperors. Over the next 16 miles (26 km), we'll drive the uphill side of the Washington Luís highway, the BR-040, through the rainforest of the Serra de Petrópolis, and into the city that Dom Pedro II named for himself. Along the way, you'll hear about an emperor who fell for the telephone, a president who said that to govern is to open roads, a casino palace that hosted Harry Truman, an aviation pioneer with a right-foot staircase, and a famous writer's last refuge. Between the stories, there's a song born in these hills, and Brazil's oldest beer. Your directions will come as short spoken cues just before each turn. We'll finish at Praça da Liberdade, in the historic heart of Petrópolis. Drive carefully on the mountain curves, and let the serra rise around you.