By air
São Luís (SLZ), ~4 h by road to Barreirinhas
South America · Brazil
Lençóis Maranhenses, Brazil
White dunes and rainwater lagoons
Getting there
Best time to visit
June to September — the lagoons are full
Don't miss
Lagoa Azul
Lagoa Bonita
Barreirinhas
The Preguiças River
Things to do
Swimming in the lagoons
4x4 trips
Sunset over the dunes
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: Julius Dadalti · CC BY-SA 4.0
What to pack
Sun protection, sandals, plenty of water
A quieter corner
Atins, a quiet village where the river meets the dunes
Questions travellers ask
When are the lagoons of Lençóis Maranhenses full?
June to September, which makes it the best time to go. Bring sun protection, sandals and plenty of water.
How do I get to Lençóis Maranhenses?
Fly into São Luís (SLZ), then it's about 4 h by road to Barreirinhas.
What is there to do in Lençóis Maranhenses?
Swim in the lagoons, take a 4x4 trip and stay out for sunset over the dunes. Make time for Lagoa Azul, Lagoa Bonita and the Preguiças River.
Is there a quieter corner of Lençóis Maranhenses?
Atins, a quiet village where the river meets the dunes. Try the shrimp and fresh fish there.
About Lençóis Maranhenses
- Desert
- Coastal
Where it is
Lençóis Maranhenses National Park is on the Atlantic coast of Maranhão state in north-eastern Brazil, a field of white sand dunes reaching up to 50 km inland along some 70 km of coast, with the town of Barreirinhas on the Preguiças River as its main gateway.
History
The dunes are built from sand carried to the coast by the Parnaíba and Preguiças rivers and driven back inland by the wind over thousands of years. The area was protected as a national park in 1981, and in 2024 it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
People
The dunes are almost empty, but two oases, Queimada dos Britos and Baixa Grande, are home to families who live from fishing, goats and small farms. In Barreirinhas and Atins, Portuguese-speaking locals work as guides and boatmen, and fibre from the buriti palm is woven into crafts.
Known for
- Rainwater lagoons between the dunes
- Lagoa Azul and Lagoa Bonita
- 4x4 trips across the sand
- The village of Atins
- Boat trips on the Preguiças River
Did you know?
Lençóis Maranhenses is not a true desert: it gets about 1,200 mm of rain a year, and the lagoons that fill between the dunes from January to June even hold fish, such as the wolf fish, which survives the dry season buried in the mud.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.