One of Brazil’s most amazing destinations is Lençóis Maranhenses, a desert and dune area with lagoons in between them. While many are familiar with the stunning waterfalls of Foz do Iguaçu, fewer have discovered this remarkable gem. Located on the north coast of Brazil, Lençóis Maranhenses spans up to 40 km inland, covering an area of over 1,500 km². As you can expect it is very special. During the rainy seasons, numerous blue and green lagoons emerge in between the sand dunes, further adding to its allure. Most tours you can do from the town of Barreirinhas and there are some that you can only do from Atìns.
Visit one of the lagoons
There are two lagoons where you will almost always find water when you book a trip to the Maranhenses National Park. These are Lagoa Bonita and Lagoa Azul. You will be picked up at your accommodation with a 4×4 jeep and you will travel to the edge of the national park. There is a ferry for the cars before you take the hour and a half long drive through the park, so make sure you bring your flip flops. We got stuck in the sand while driving to the national park and we had to push it out. Don’t be surprised if the trip will take longer than they have said. From the entrance of the dunes you will walk to the lagoon. At the lake you will have some time to swim and to roll down the dunes into the water. We went to Lagoa Bonita and it was truly as beautiful as they told us. We ran from one of the dunes into the water and it was nice and refreshing. The wind was quite strong and we saw new dunes forming while the sand made gorgeous patterns.
Lagoa Bonita- beautiful lake
According to the locals this is the most beautiful one of the lagoons. We visited Lagoa Bonita at sunset and it definitely was a sight we will never forget. We ran down from the dunes in the water and had a lot of fun. There are little fishes that live in the water. If you have small wounds don’t be surprised if they nibble at them. We booked this tour through this agency. It is easy to contact them through what’s app. Something that is really cool about the fishes is that they stay dormant in the mud and moist areas after most of the water has evaporated, re-emerging during the next rainy season. The view was incredible and the colorful sky at the end of the day was spectacular.
Lagoa Azul- blue lake
Lagoa Azul is the most famous lagoon in the park. And usually they recommend going to this one because it is quite close to the edge of the dune area. There are some fishes here too. We didn’t have to chance to go to both but I can imagine that they are very similar to each other. At least that is what we have been told.
Flying over Lençoins Maranhenses
Before we came we heard that a flight over the area was possible. As a photography lover I was so excited and we decided to go during golden hour, just before sundown. And how fortunate we were! It was a great day for flying over the dunes and we thought it was well worth the price. We took a taxi to go to the airport of Barreirinhas and we met our pilot and his little airplane there. There was someone else coming too and we ended up having a lovely evening with her afterwards. There are different routes you can take (which will determine the price) and we opted for flying over the river, the beach and flying over the dunes and the two lagoons I mentioned above. We had expected to see more lagoons but because of a severe drought at the time we went we didn’t see as many as we hoped. Although we didn’t see many lakes it was still magical. There are some really cool photographs available in my shop.
We made our booking online and they sent us all the information in English. The pilot spoke a little bit of English which was nice. Depending on your route the time you are in the air is shorter or longer.
Horseback riding tour
Some tours are only available when you are in Atíns and this is one of them. When we booked our accommodation they sent us some information about the tours that were available and we were immediately enthusiastic about the horseback riding tour. We were picked up from our Pousada by our guide. He only spoke Portuguese and luckily I had lived in Brazil for a while so I was able to speak with him in his native tongue. We started to ride through the little town of Atíns and then towards the dunes. We did the tour at the end of the afternoon and we planned to watch the sundown in the desert area of the national park. It was such an incredible experience, the heat embraces you while you are riding and the scenery is almost apocalyptic. Nothing to see for miles except sand. The sundown was a scenery never to forget.
It is best not to wear shorts during the horseback riding tour. It can be quite uncomfortable if your bare skin rubs against the hairs of the horse.
Quad riding
During our research we learned that quad riding in the dunes was one of the options you could do. We decided not to do it after learning that there are only certain areas where you could do it and that you were not able to go into the dunes like we did when we went on the horseback riding tour. We did ride a quad when the lady of our pousada brought us to the port in Atìns. It was fun! If we would have had more time, we definitely would have done a quad tour because even though you couldn’t ride everywhere it would have been a lot of fun. You can book a quad tour here, it’s the same tour operator we booked for the horseback riding tour.
Visiting preguicas (mandacaru) lighthouse
If you go to Atíns by boat you will see a little town before you get to the port of Atíns. You can leave the boat and visit the lighthouse there, free of charge. We only saw it from the boat but we didn’t leave the boat because it only had a short amount of time before we had to continue. Usually in the morning there are two stops and the stops are longer so you can get off the boat. We left in the afternoon and we only had two very short stops because of that.
Tour the river or take advantage of a transfer to Atíns
You can book a tour to go on the river and see the mangrove or you can book a transfer by boat if you are going to Atíns. We booked a transfer and loved the boat trip. If you book a tour of course you will be slower and they will explain more about the area but we already had a lot of information about the mangrove forest when we visited the Amazon rainforest. If you do the transfer by boat in the morning, there are some longer stops at 2 places but because we went later in the day we didn’t have long in those places. You can ask your tour operator if there are stops available and how long they can last. We received the information for transfer at the accommodation in Barreirinhas. Transfer by boat. We paid around $R200 p.p. for a return transfer.
Luminescent plankton tour
Weweresuper intrigued by the idea of luminescent plankton and we were so excited to see it. We were picked up by a jeep from our local stay and it was completely dark. We drove to the beach but were disappointed by what we saw. They told us that because of the drought that we had while we were there, there wasn’t a lot to see. We thought that it would have been better to warn us beforehand because there was almost nothing to see. But that’s Brazil for you. When we stepped in the sea, we made a lot of movement so that we could see little lights appearing. Almost like fireflies but in the water. We explained how disappointed we were and fortunately they said that we could go and see the stars from the dunes. That was lovely indeed! We had fun playing while taking nighttime pictures and we tried to make the best of it. We booked it here.
There are some tours that you can do, where you also sleep in the dunes and that sounds really awesome. We didn’t do it because we didn’t know we could do that (and we didn’t have enough time) but that would have been pretty cool.
If you are going to Brazil this is definitely a place that I recommend you visit! We loved visiting Lençoins Maranhenses.
To experience this area, plan for a minimum of 4 days, if you could go for 5 days it’s even better. We enjoyed our time here and wished we could have stayed for longer. The natural beauty is breathtaking!
Unfortunately, due to the sandy terrain, wheelchair users and individuals with mobility issues will find it difficult to move around. If you are able to walk short distances there are some tours you can do from Barreirinhas. For instance the 4×4 jeep tour so you can see the amazing dune area or if you enjoy flying you can definitely do the pleasure flight over the dunes.
Is this country/ city accessible for wheelchair users?
National park*
No, sorry to break it to you but it is very hard to move around here. Even if you are able to walk just a little bit the roads are super bumpy. If you are able to walk a bit you might be able to do a 4×4 tour with a jeep but as I just mentioned, it is a hard drive. The pleasure flight could also be an option. It is super nice.
Café’s and restaurants
Bad, unfortunately it is very sandy and so the people are not well prepared for people who are disabled. Lots of restaurants have stairs or high steps going inside. Restaurants with a terrace are your best option here.
Public transport
Bad, but you can always use taxis here.
Toilets
Bad, the people are not well prepared for people who are disabled and there are almost no bathrooms for people in a wheelchair here.
*And other attractions
Items I love while traveling
Dry bags
These bags I use all the time for different things. I do my laundry in them, use them as a hamper or bring them with me to the swimming pool or beach. Easy to clean and multiple ways to use them.
Collapsible handheld fan
I don’t know about how you deal with heat but I need a bit of cooling down when I’m traveling. This easy (and cute) fan is my go to for when I am too hot. It can be charged with usb which is super practical.
Quick dry towel
Even when I go to a hotel I love to bring my microfiber towels. I use them for my hair, for when I go to a beach or swimming pool and I use them to get even more water out of my clothes after laundry.