What is a favela?

Travel Info
in rio de janerio

Travel Tips

are massive neighbourhoods where poor people live under really bad conditions. They live in barracks or old constructions or houses build by them selves.
U can get a better answer at Brazil category!

Others
I think very poor neighbourhoods.
Yep, that's in Brazil. Rio de Janeiro has plenty of favelas, very poor neighborhoods set in the hills of the city, with a high crime rate, where the people are afraid to go.
They are very...VERY poor neighborhoods where there is lots of crime. Prostitution and drug use....lots of it! Some of them are so violent that the police refuse to go in to patrol because if they do, they will be shot and killed!
"favela" is a portuguese word for "ghetto"
A favela is a slum. Usually a term used in Brazilian Portuguese to describe many areas in large cities.
All answers are correct, I just would like to add that a favela can be at any point of the city, so not just in the surroundings or in far away places. You ahve a 5 star hotel or a luxurious condominium and in the same street you can have a favela! So if you are going to Brazil look at the end of the street before you enter there, as it can be rather dangerous if suddenly you find yourself in a favela!