If you’re curious to know what day-to-day life in a barracks is like, maybe it’s time you paid a visit to ROTA. The Rondas Ostensivas Tobias de Aguiar, better known as São Paulo’s shock troops, is located in the Luz neighborhood and opens its doors twice a week to visitors.
Also known as Mansão da Luz, the space offers guided tours on Fridays and Saturdays, always at 10am. Find out how to take part below!
Visit to ROTA: get to know the daily life of the Mansion of Light
During the visit, visitors can see behind the scenes of the battalion. These include the facilities, vehicles and training areas, as well as hearing curiosities and legends about the place.
Another highlight is the Rota Mansion Tunnel more than three kilometers of underground passages that used to connect the building to the Estação da Luz and four other barracks. Today, part of these tunnels are open to visitors and there is even an underground museum.
Oh, and as a curiosity, even world powerlifting champion Willian Brito Piovezan, better known as Bitelo, has been through ROTA.
How to find out?
Visits to the ROTA battalion are free, but those interested need to make an appointment to take part. To do so, send an email to visitarota@gmail.com by the Wednesday before the visit, with the following information:
- Full name
- ID
- Day you want to visit (Friday or Saturday)
Then all you have to do is wait for a reply from the institution confirming your visit. And on the day, it’s important to arrive at the venue 15 minutes in advance!