In a city of 1,521 square kilometers like São Paulo, with an average altitude of 760 meters above the sea, but with neighborhoods like Perdizes, which reaches 832 meters, and the so-called Espigão on Avenida Paulista, with 830, it is not surprising that the city has stairs scattered all over the place.
One of the best known is Sumaré, in Irmaos Karmann square (west of the city) with its 153 steps, which has already earned the informal title of the best fit staircase in Brazil, and receives athletes from all over the city for turbocharged training with the graffiti on its sides. According to Renata Castro, a specialist in Sports Medicine, the average caloric expenditure of each step taken is 0.15 calories. To go down, count 0.05 calories. “It seems little, but adding up will give a good total”, she explains, noting that this will still depend on the height of the step, the speed of the exercise and the person’s weight, among other factors.
But the fact is that, even if the bill varies from person to person, you can be sure that the view, at least, will be much more attractive than that of your closed device at the gym (OK, it’s not worth mentioning those beings with bodies absurdly beautiful that adorn the environment and humiliate us poor mortals. We’re talking about landscape here, okay?). “And it’s an exercise option that’s available in many places, it’s an inclusive practice and, in general, low impact, because you don’t usually climb very fast”, adds the expert.
In addition, going up and down the many stairs in São Paulo can also be an excellent training for walking trails in the bush. As is well known, in addition to boosting aerobic capacity, there will be no shortage of holes that, if they are to be expected in nature, on urban sidewalks are a real pity. Anyway, back to what interests us.
For a few years now, the city has seen a good part of its most central staircases be decorated with various graffiti, which constitute a separate attraction for a simple sightseeing tour or to color training. This Sunday (21), for example, the “Tour das Escadarias e Confeitarias de Pinheiros” will be held, organized by Olavo Medeiros, creator of the project “O Melhor de Sampa”, who conceived the tour in the middle of the pandemic as a suggestion to those who wanted to escape isolation and taking a walk around interesting places.
The tour includes Virgílio’s stairs, on Virgílio Carvalho Pinto street, which in addition to graffiti has a reading corner; the Escadaria Mirtes Bernardes, on Rua Joaquim Antunes, which pays homage to the creator of the São Paulo sidewalk pattern; the Escadão Marielle Franco, a tribute to the councilor murdered in Rio de Janeiro, which has been vandalized several times; and, finally, the Ballerinas’ Staircase, decorated with graffiti by Kobra.
About the latter, a warning: if you haven’t seen it yet, run to check it out. After the neighboring land was sold to a construction company, half of the drawings were already torn down, including the reproduction of Degas’ ballerina that illustrated the right side. And the other mural only survives because one of the residents resists leaving her little house, allowing (still) the appreciation of the reproductions of the dancers of Paraisópolis portrayed by the world famous artist.
The circuit covered for this visit of about 4 hours is approximately 1 kilometer, explains Medeiros — and energy can be quickly recovered in the many bakeries that are visited on the way back and which tend to multiply exponentially with each edition of the tour through the neighborhood of West Zone. For those who care about physical preparation, it is worth mentioning that it is not mandatory to go up and down the many steps (on average 40, according to him) of each one. But who make beautiful photos for social networks, oh, they do. Anyone who wants to check it out can access the project’s Instagram here and sign up.
If the Pinheiros stairs are popular, it’s also worth checking out some of the more forgotten ones — including, and especially, by the city’s administrators. The Bixiga staircase, on Rua Treze de Maio in front of Praça Dom Orione (where on Sundays there is also a delicious fair of antiques, antiques and varied thrift stores and monthly jazz concerts at its base), in the central region, is a beautiful architectural work with its 80 steps divided into three flights. But on the morning the blog went to check it out (and count the steps, which are not mentioned in any official citation), garbage piled up on each level.
Another beautiful staircase that is worth the exercise for its 120 steps is the Belvedere Avanhandava, which connects Frei Caneca and Avanhandava streets. Like the one in Bixiga, it demands more cleanliness from the authorities and user care with security, because at more deserted times, robberies are frequent, say the neighborhood merchants, who prefer not to identify themselves for fear of reprisals.
And if we’re going to talk about stairs, we can’t forget the one at the highest point in the capital of São Paulo, the one that reaches the foot of the antennas located on Pico do Jaraguá, in the north of the city. If Sumaré is the most, shall we say, gourmet version, it can be said that Jaraguá is the root mother of all the stairs in the city, with no less than 300 steps and a breathtaking view that remains to be who get there.
So, have you chosen your tour for this weekend?
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