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The mayor of Camboriú announced a plan to build a glass walkway at 686 meters on Pico da Pedra, which would be a world record, with an elevator to replace the 2 km trail that today attracts only 100 people per week, a project inspired by tourist structures in China.
The city of Camboriú, neighboring Balneário Camboriú on the Santa Catarina coast, may gain the highest glass walkway on the planet. Mayor Leonel Pavan confirmed in an interview with the Skyline Cast podcast that the structure will be positioned at an altitude of 686 meters on Pico da Pedra, a traditional postcard of the municipality. The reference declared by the mayor himself is the glass walkways that function as tourist attractions in China, suspended structures over cliffs that simulate cracks in the floor to provoke reactions in visitors.
The project goes beyond the glass walkway. Pavan also envisions the installation of an elevator that would transport visitors from the road level to the mountain top, eliminating the need to traverse the approximately 2 km trail that is currently the only access to Pico da Pedra. The hike, considered easy to moderate difficulty due to steep climbs and sections with steps, takes between one and two hours to complete and attracts around 100 people on weekends. The stated goal is to multiply this number with infrastructure that makes the top accessible to any visitor, regardless of physical condition.
What makes the glass walkway in Camboriú potentially the highest in the world
The altitude of 686 meters on Pico da Pedra is the central data of the project. The most well-known glass walkways in the world are in China, where structures like the one in Zhangjiajie National Park are about 300 meters above the valley, and the one at Tianmen Mountain reaches impressive heights but lower than what Camboriú proposes. If built at the altitude announced by the mayor, the Santa Catarina glass walkway would occupy an unprecedented position in the global ranking, transforming a local tourist spot into an attraction with international appeal.
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The geographical location reinforces the potential. The Pico da Pedra is visible from the BR-101, the main highway along the Santa Catarina coast, and can be accessed from both Camboriú and neighboring Itapema, municipalities that, along with Balneário Camboriú, form one of the busiest tourist hubs in Southern Brazil. The proximity to Balneário Camboriú, a city that attracts millions of tourists each year with its vertical beachfront and cable car, creates a base of potential visitors who would not need additional travel to experience the glass walkway.
How is the trail that today leads to the Pico da Pedra in Camboriú
The route to the top is about 2 km one way and part of a road that connects Camboriú to Itapema. The elevation gain is approximately 400 meters, with the trail starting at low altitudes and reaching 620 meters at the final point, where the panoramic view is considered one of the best on the Santa Catarina coast. Despite being short in distance, the steep incline and the rocky sections make the climb require some physical preparation.
The approximately 100 people who hike weekly represent a limited audience precisely due to the difficulty of access. Senior citizens, small children, and people with reduced mobility are excluded from the experience, and even fit adults often take up to two hours to complete the route. The glass walkway combined with the elevator designed by the mayor would completely change this equation, transforming a niche destination for hikers into a mass tourist attraction accessible to any visitor profile.
The challenges of building a glass walkway at 686 meters altitude
Pavan’s project is still in the political announcement stage, with no engineering details, budget, or timeline published. Erecting a glass walkway at the top of a mountain at 686 meters altitude involves logistical challenges that include transporting heavy materials over steep terrain, foundations in natural rock, resistance to high-intensity winds that blow at high altitudes, and compliance with safety standards that in Brazil still lack direct references for this type of structure. The installation of an elevator adds complexity and cost to the project, as it would require electrical infrastructure, a machine room, and ongoing maintenance in a hard-to-reach location.
There is also the environmental issue. The Pico da Pedra is located in an area of Atlantic Forest, a biome protected by federal legislation, and any large-scale construction in the area will require environmental licensing to assess the impact on the vegetation, fauna, and water resources of the mountain. The comparison with China, where glass walkways are built with fewer regulatory restrictions in parks managed by the central government, does not directly apply to the Brazilian context, where the environmental processing can take years before the first glass slab is installed.
What the glass walkway would mean for tourism in Camboriú
If it comes to fruition, the structure would put Camboriú on the map of adventure tourism and extreme architecture. A glass walkway at 686 meters high, with views of the Santa Catarina coastline, the mountains, and possibly even the curvature of the maritime horizon, would have the potential to attract visitors who currently focus their itineraries in Balneário Camboriú and do not cross over to the neighboring municipality. The economic impact would depend on the ticket price, the capacity of visitors per day, and the integration with the region’s hotel and dining network.
Camboriú, which has historically lived in the tourist shadow of the neighboring beach town, would find in the glass walkway a unique identity capable of generating independent revenue. The mayor dreams of a structure that seems to break under the feet of visitors but stands firm, an experience that has already established itself as a public phenomenon and on social media in China. If Pico da Pedra receives the same attention as other glass viewpoints around the world, the 100 people who visit each week could turn into thousands per day, completely changing the economy of a city that until now has lived as a passage between Itapema and Balneário Camboriú.
And you, would you have the courage to step on a glass walkway at 686 meters high? Do you think Camboriú can compete with China in this type of attraction? Leave your opinion in the comments.
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