Post by gondola-project

Aparecida is a quaint city in Brazil located approximately halfway between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The city is a center of religious tourism that sees 11 million tourists who flock to the city on an annual basis to experience the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida – the largest Marian shrine in the world, the second largest church in the world, and also the origin of the city’s name. Another popular tourist hotspot is the Morro de Cruzeiro, a religious hill that overlooks the city. On top of the hill lies access to the Torre Mirante, another attraction that acts as a lookout tower.

To improve connectivity between these two sites, private developers financed a 1.1-kilometer cable car that takes passengers on a vertical rise of 117 meters from the base of the National Shrine to the top of the Morro do Cruzeiro. The MDG system, known to the city as the “cable car of the patroness” is operated by the tourist agency Bontur. In the first year of operation, the cable car, which consists of 47 cabins holding 6 passengers each, attracted over one million riders. This demonstrates the ropeway’s popularity amongst tourists. On the ride passengers can experience incredible views of the city and the National Shrine.

However, despite the success of the gondola, its construction didn’t come without conflict. During the development phase of the gondola, many residents of Aparecida were unhappy with the cable car route as the ropeway crossed over several residential homes and a neighborhood cemetery.

Some residents described the gondola’s setting as “disrespectful”, and “an invasion of privacy” while others described it as the best thing to have happened in the city. Therefore, while ropeways can add a unique charm to the city, they can also cause problems with local residents. Developers should be conscious of these issues when constructing cable cars and should make great efforts to work collaboratively with the local community.

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Image credits: CC BY 3.0, by HVL