Praia Vermelha, Beach at the foot of Sugarloaf Mountain, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Praia Vermelha is a beach at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain with distinctive reddish sand areas framed by granite cliffs and Atlantic forest vegetation. The sheltered bay provides calm waters and multiple access points for visitors.

The beach was created between 1659 and 1660, when governor Salvador Correia de Sá e Benevides ordered the stretch of sea between the Ilha da Trindade and the mainland filled in. A fort was built at the site in the early 18th century for the defence of Guanabara Bay. In 1852 the Hospício Pedro II opened in the building now occupied by the UFRJ Praia Vermelha campus, and from 1856 the Batalhão de Engenheiros and the Escola Militar e de Aplicação were installed here.

The name means "red beach", yet the sand is pale tan, not red. The beach sits between the Morro da Urca and the Morro da Babilônia, and the cable car to the Sugarloaf leaves from Praça General Tibúrcio beside it. A military post nearby keeps the beach heavily guarded, which makes it one of the safest in Rio.

The beach has multiple entrances with designated swimming areas staffed by lifeguards, plus facilities for restrooms and parking throughout. Arriving early in the day offers the calmest conditions and clearest views of the surrounding landscape.

Despite the name, the sand is pale tan, not red: the "red" refers to the aterro, the land fill ordered in 1659–1660 by governor Salvador Correia de Sá e Benevides, which joined the Ilha da Trindade to the mainland and created the beach. The 250-metre strip lies between the Morro da Urca and the Morro da Babilônia.