Rocinha Favela

Walking around the favela was actually quite safe.. safer than walking around the streets of Rio. Because the drug lords don't want police coming into the favela, crime is not permitted inside. Our tour guide said that we could shake hands with someone in the favela and they would be friendly to us, but if we met them on the street somewhere else in Rio they most likely would try to rob us.
Additionally, unlike what most of us think, the fighting scenes and violence in Favelas usually only occur when drug lords are fighting over turf. This favela used to be two seperate ones, but after two gangs fought over the drug trade and one of them won, they became one.