Barra da Tijuca is a southwestern borough of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, known for its natural and opulent beauty. Rio de Janeiro, commonly known as Rio, is the capital city of the Rio de Janeiro State, the second largest city of Brazil and the third largest metropolitan area in South America. Since July 2012, part of the city has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in the category of ''cultural landscape''.
Among other numerous, luxurious and imposing buildings, towers, malls and fields, it is in Barra that the biggest shopping center in South America (Barrashopping) and the biggest convention center (Riocentro) are located! As far as its beach is concerned, it is the longest beach in Rio de Janeiro, starting at Morro da Joa and ending at the  Recreio dos Bandeirantes neighborhood, covering a distance of 18 km/11 mi.
It is a beach with clean, green, tropical waters, gold sand, a number of kiosks, seafood restaurants and bars as well as a cycling lane. A particular part of the beach, called Praia de Pepe, is the spot you ‘re looking for to practice your favorite extreme sport, kitesurfing.
The water quality is excellent, the sea bottom is sandy and the current is medium (1-2 knots). There is no tide dependency and the direction of local winds is mainly east. You can kitesurf any time of the year, on condition that you first check out the weather forecast, having in mind that the windy season starts in August and ends in March.
The beach attends to the needs of any kind of kitesurfer, since it offers waves of low, intermediate and high difficulty, due to the variation of conditions. As for the water and air temperature, it is usually so warm, that wet suits are not necessary.
