Sugar Loaf, Portuguese Po de Acar, landmark peak overlooking Rio de Janeiro Named for its shape, the conical, granitic peak (1,296 feet ) lies at the end of a short range between Rio de Janeiro and the Atlantic Ocean. The name Sugarloaf was coined in the 16th century by the Portuguese during the heyday of sugarcane of trade in Brazil. According to historians blocks of sugar were placed in conical molds made of clay to be transported on ships. The form of the peak reminded them of the resultingsugarloaf shape, and the nickname has since been extended to be a general descriptor for formations of this kind We took the cable car runs to its summit from the adjacent Urca Hill with a stunning birds eye view of Rio de Janeiro from the mouth of Guanabara Bay. Copacabana Beach and Christ the Redeemer over Botafogo Bay.