The cable lift of Complexo do Alemão was inaugurated in July 2011 and is part of the public transport in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro. You can hop on at the train station in the neighborhood Bonsucesso. Inhabitants of the Favelas that are connected to the cable lift have the right to one round trip a day, owners of the Rio Card pay one real for a single trip and the regular price for a single ticket is 5 reais.
To arrive at the train station of Bonsucesso, you can take any train from the Central Station that departs from platform 12 (Direction Saracuruna or Gramacho). A taxi, however, isn't that expensive either (around 30 reais from Central) and just tell the cab driver you want to go to the train station of Bonsucesso (estação do Bonsucesso). When you are inside the train station, you can buy two tickets. One to go to Palmeiras and another one to return to the train station.
Although the Teleférico was also bound to be a touristic attraction (because of its amazing view over the biggest complex of Favelas in Rio) not much tourists take the effort to go here. Understandable, because there are relatively a small amount off guides going there and it is pretty difficult to get there on your own if you don't know the city. But with the directions I gave you above, you should manage.
The Teleférico has six stations and the last station is Palmeiras, where you have to step out of the cable lift. There you can enjoy a great view of the complex of Favelas. It is not recommended that you explore the Favela on your own, just enjoy the view close to the station. If you are done watching, you can even buy a souvenir at one of the kiosks stationed at the station Palmeiras. read more