🚗⛰️ Part 2 of our trip along the Washington Luís / BR-040 is here!

In the previous video, we left Rio de Janeiro, crossed Duque de Caxias, and traveled along the Washington Luís highway to the beginning of the Serra do Mar mountain range. Now it's time to do what was missing:

TO CLIMB THE ENTIRE PETRÓPOLIS MOUNTAIN RANGE to the entrance of the Imperial City.

And this time the trip had everything: curves, trucks, overtaking, rain, fog, history, and some discoveries along the way.

During the journey, we passed through the Washington Luís Tunnel, officially entered Petrópolis, stopped to visit the Cristo viewpoint, found the curious Ferreira da Cunha Castle, and finished our trip crossing the Quitandinha Gateway, already in Petrópolis.

But this video isn't just about the route.

We also delved into the history to understand how people conquered this mountain range long before the BR-040 existed.

Centuries before the current highway, the region was crossed by the Caminho Novo (New Road), opened in the early 18th century. Later, the Estrada Normal da Serra da Estrela (Normal Road of the Serra da Estrela) emerged, allowing the circulation of carriages. In the 19th century, the journey between Rio and Petrópolis involved steamboats, trains, and stagecoaches; in 1883, the railway began to overcome the mountain range using a rack railway system.

The road we traveled on is also historic: the Rio–Petrópolis highway was inaugurated in 1928 and is recognized by the Ministry of Transport as the first paved highway in Brazil. Currently, the old Washington Luís highway remains in use as an uphill lane to the entrance of Petrópolis.

📍 SOME POINTS FROM THE VIDEO

⛰️ Beginning of the ascent of the Petrópolis mountain range
🚛 Trucks and overtaking on the mountain road
🌧️ Rain and heavy fog
🚇 Washington Luís Tunnel
✝️ Christ the Redeemer viewpoint
☕ Stop during the ascent
🏰 Ferreira da Cunha Castle
👑 Quitandinha Gateway
🏙️ Arrival in the Imperial City

The Christ the Redeemer viewpoint also holds an interesting history: the site had its first cross installed in 1938 and in 1941 it gained the configuration with a granite cross and bronze image of Christ that we know today.

The Ferreira da Cunha Castle, on the other hand, deceives many people with its medieval appearance. Its construction only began in 1951, inspired by Portuguese castles from the 12th and 13th centuries. The Ferreira da Cunha Historical Museum was officially founded in 1957.

And the Quitandinha Gateway, despite its historical style, is also relatively recent: the monument dates from 1999.

The region is expected to undergo major transformations in the coming years. The current concession includes capacity expansion works in the Serra de Petrópolis and interventions related to a main tunnel of approximately 4.6 km, in addition to other improvements on the BR-040 highway.

💬 Now we want to know from you: which of these stories or curiosities did you not know?

And if you've been following along since Part 1, comment:

“I ARRIVED IN PETRÓPOLIS!” 👇

This will show how many people made this complete trip with us.

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Here we don't just want to show where we're going. We want to understand why that road exists and what happened there before we arrived.

And our trip through Petrópolis isn't over yet. 👀

📚 Sources and references consulted

Petrópolis City Hall / TurisPetro — History of Petrópolis
New Road, Normal Road of Serra da Estrela, imperial period, stagecoaches and rack railway.

History of Petrópolis — TurisPetro

Ministry of Transport — Transport in Brazil: Historical Summary
History of the Rio-Petrópolis highway and the inauguration of the first paved highway in Brazil in 1928.

Ministry of Transport — Historical Summary

ANTT — BR-040/MG-RJ
History of the Washington Luís highway as the current uphill lane of the Serra de Petrópolis.

COMDEP / Petrópolis City Hall — Christ the Redeemer Lookout
History of the 1938 cross and the monument inaugurated in 1941.
History and revitalization of the Christ the Redeemer Lookout

Ferreira da Cunha Historical Museum — MHFC
History of the Ferreira da Cunha Castle and the beginning of its construction in 1951.
Ferreira da Cunha Historical Museum

Petrópolis City Hall — City Gateways
Registration of the Quitandinha Gateway as a monument dated 1999.
City Gateways of Petrópolis

ANTT / Ministry of Transport — New concession for BR-040
Information on future interventions and works planned for the Petrópolis Mountain Range.

#PetropolisMountainRange #Petropolis #BR040 #WashingtonLuis #RioDeJaneiro #UrbanSuffering