Carioca Aqueduct, Colonial aqueduct in Lapa, Brazil

The Carioca Aqueduct, known as Arcos da Lapa, is a whitewashed stone structure of two tiers of rounded arches, 42 in all, spanning 270 metres between the hills of Santa Teresa and Santo Antônio at a maximum height of 17.6 metres. Circular medallions mark the piers of the upper row, and a low parapet with small triangular ornaments runs above it. It stands in an open paved square in Lapa.

The waterway was constructed between 1720 and 1750 to carry drinking water from the Carioca River into the expanding downtown area. In the late 19th century it was converted to a tram route to Santa Teresa after new pipelines replaced its original function.

The aqueduct is also called Arcos da Lapa, after the neighbourhood where its monumental section stands. Since 1896 it has carried the Santa Teresa tram, the only tram still running in Rio de Janeiro. The colonial arches now serve as a backdrop for Holy Week festivities and the city's traditional Christmas play.

You can walk alongside at both ends and view the architecture up close while the tram passes overhead. The area is quieter during the day but comes alive at night when bars and clubs open and people gather beneath the arches.

The aqueduct was built with the labour of enslaved Indigenous and African workers, and its design is attributed to Portuguese military engineer José Fernandes Pinto Alpoim, who drew on Lisbon's Águas Livres Aqueduct. In 2011 a French tourist died after falling from the structure while trying to take a photograph.