Underrated South American tourist attraction: Brazil’s Sea of Dunes

A protected area in Brazil, Lencois Maranhenses National Park is one of the world’s most intriguing locations to visit. Why does this place have such a unique importance in the country?

Unique to Brazil and South America, the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park has been left untouched by human development and has remained in pristine condition. Der Nationalpark Lençóis Maranhenses consists of white sand dunes with azure lakes interspersed between them What can I say about this? Find out all you need to know about this underappreciated destination.

The Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, located in the north of Brazil, is the major reason travelers visit the state of Maranho. The area was designated a national park in 1981 and covers 606 square miles of shoreline (1,570 square kilometers). Wide, rolling sand dunes that continually vary their appearance due to the winds that blow across the park make it one of Brazil’s most distinctive and beautiful landscapes. As a result of considerable rainfall in the first few months of the year, there are pools of freshwater in between the dunes, producing a stunning contrast between white and blue.

Barreirinhas, 155 miles (250 kilometers) from So Lus, the capital of Maranho state, is the easiest way to travel to Lençóis Maranhenses. Aside from being home to a number of excellent hotels and restaurants, Preguiças is also home to a natural attraction of its own: the river Preguiças, so-named after the wild sloths that reside there. There is a direct bus service from So Luis to Barreirinhas.

If you’re interested in exploring Lençóis Maranhenses, you can take a 44 journey into the dunes, where you may roam about the sandy hillside for a couple of hours and swim in some of the most beautiful freshwater lakes, like Lagoa Bonita (“Pretty Lake,” “Blue Lake,” and “Paradise Lake”). To see the dunes from above, you may take a 30-minute flight that takes you directly over them.

To accommodate the expanding number of travelers, new bed & breakfasts are opening in Lençóis Maranhenses every year. However, for now, it remains one of South America’s most underappreciated and pristine travel locations, regardless of the future consequences.