Vidigal is Rio’s most foreigner-friendly slum, with guesthouses, coffee houses, restaurants and even a sushi-bar aimed at the tourist market. It is relatively small and picturesque, with spectacular views over the Atlantic, and an hour-long walking trail that winds from its upper limits to the top of the Dois Irmãos mountain.

When pacified in 2012, Vidigal was already popular with artists, young Brazilians and foreigners. Scottish school librarian Graeme Boyd, 34, lived there for two six-month periods, in 2009 and 2011. “As long as foreigners respect the locals, make a contribution and use the business inside the favela, they will be welcomed,” he said. “People reacted to me as if I had lived there all my life”.

(adapted from www.theguardian.com)