Rocinha (literally, Portuguese for small ranch ) is the largest favela in Brazil. It is located within the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro , between the districts of São Conrado and Gávea . It is built on a steep hillside overlooking the city, just one kilometre from the beach.Although Rocinha is technically classified as a neighborhood, many still refer to it as a favela . It developed from a shanty town into an urbanized slum . Today, almost all the houses in Rocinha are made from concrete and brick. Some buildings are three and four stories tall and almost all houses have basic sanitation, plumbing, and electricity. Compared to simple shanty towns or slums, Rocinha has a better developed infrastructure and hundreds of businesses such as banks , redirect-drug stores , bus lines , cable television , including locally based channel TV ROC , and, at one time, a redirect-McDonalds franchise [ citation needed ] , though it has since closed. These factors help classify Rocinha as a Favela Bairro , or Favela Neighborhood. There are a number of community organizations at work in Rocinha, including three neighborhood associations and numerous redirect-NGOs and non-profit educational institutions.The population of Rocinha is estimated to be anywhere from 60,000 to 150,000 0" title="- [ 1 ] 1" title="- [ 2 ] . It is the largest favela in Brazil and definitely one of the most highly developed in Latin America. Some episodes of the Brazilian television series redirect-Cidade dos Homens ( City of Men ) were filmed there. Also the 2008 film, The Incredible Hulk , had many scenes filmed in this favela.

I was amazed at how happy all the children were. I loved visiting the Rotary afterschool program. The children were preparing for Carnival. I was shoked to see McDonalds taking advantage of the slums of Rio. I am glad to know that they are no longer in existance in the favela. We were also very skocked to see a drug lord in action collecting cash on the streets. Beautiful people, beautiful costumes and a once in a lifetime experience.

we accidentally ended up here after hopping on the wrong bus.  You should be very careful about walking without someone local through the favelas, as it can be dangerous.  But, if you can find a local to take you it can be a really rewarding experience.  I experienced it in some of the small towns and people really did seem quite happy and friendly.

Certainly this is The best city in Brazil!! Of late, are being built many bridge and another enoumous constructions because the city will host huge competions. You should visit Rio de Janeiro and its beautiful beaches.

Nothing to see, but poverty. However, if you go, you can see how 20% of cariocas live... Don´t go, alone. This favela is controlled by drug gangs and its territory is really huge...