Slumming it in Rio isn't for wimps

RIO DE JANEIRO - Breathtaking views high above Rio de Janeiro can be yours for just a few dollars - if you skip a pricey hotel to sleep in a slum.

Rio's favelas are infamous for drug and gang violence. But a new hostel called Pousada Favelinha ("the little slum inn") in Pereira da Silva is attracting adventurous tourists.

Most of the hillside slum's 1900 residents live in unpainted brick hovels they built themselves, but the hostel owners say staying there is safe. It has gained a reputation as one of Rio's calmest favelas since police killed a neighbourhood drug lord in a shoot-out seven years ago. A police squad trains there, so gangs avoid it.

The inn has no phone and only accepts reservations by email, but its five rooms were booked solid during Rio's carnival. A room with a double bed costs about $52 a night, while backpackers pay $22 a head to sleep in a large shared room. "This place isn't for wimps," said co-owner Andreia Martins, 31. "If you are uptight, you can go stay at the Copacabana Palace."

- INDEPENDENT