Information on the Lençois Maranhenses National Park

Established in: June 2, 1981 by Federal Decree 86.060.

Location: State of aranhão, comprising the municipalities of Barreirinhas and Primeira Cruz and Santo Amaro.

Area: 155.000 hectares

Perimeter: 270 km

Climate: tropical, Equatorial zone, hot semi-humid with four to five dry months.

Temperatures: Year average of 26ºC, absolute maximum of 36ºC and minimum absolute of 16ºC.

Rain: Between 1500 and 1750 mm / year.

Relief: plane.

The aerial view can be compared to a white linen sheet thrown over the land's surface.

This image perhaps justifies the name given to this wonderful region on the Northeast of the State of Maranhão and that extends itself for about 75 kilometers of shoreline, the major part formed by wild beaches, and entering inland for about 30 kilometers from the coast, which characterizes it as the largest dunes field in Brazil.

The area corresponding to the Lençois Maranhenses National Park established in 1981 as a way of protecting the diversity of local flora and fauna is of the size of the city of São Paulo, which helps us to get an idea of its immensity.

It comprises 155,500 hectares of dunes that sometimes reach 40 meters high and that turns it into a magnificent landscape because of the contrast between the desert formed by the dunes and the many lagoons interposed in this cape of white sand, nestled close by to the Atlantic Ocean. Mother nature's masterpiece.

Not only the tidal largeness and the maritime currents, but especially the winds of up to 70Km/ h are responsible for transporting the wispy sand grains from over the coastline setting up this incredibly beautiful scenario.

The rains fall mainly between January and June and by accumulation are created several lagoons of crystalline water, some of them green other bluizh, all very clear, a few reaching a 4 meter-depth and extending for over 2 kilometers wide.

The best known are Lagoa Azul, Lagoa Bonita, Lagoa do Peixe and Lagoa da Esperança. A few streams cut through the area of the park and add as well to the formation of the lagoons.

In the region of Lençois it rains 300 times more than in the Sahara desert which makes it into the most tropical desert of the world, thus its rare beauty. The average yearly temperature is of 26 C, the maximum being 40 C and the minimum 16 C.

The winds cause also the constant movement of the dunes for about 20 meters / year which means that the once seen landscape will never be the same.

The Lençois area with its field of dunes outreaches the National Park and what limits and separates these areas is the Rio Preguiças.

The National Park, also known as Big Lençois lies on the left margin of the river in the direction towards the Atlantic Ocean, and is constituted by the municipalities of Primeira Cruz and Barreirinhas, the villages of Santo Amaro, Queimada dos Britos, Baixa Grande and Atins among other hamlets.

On the right side margin are the Little Lençois, an Environment Protection Area established in 1991 that covers the municipalities of Barreirinhas, Tutoia and Araioses. In this area is also the hamlet of Cabure besides the settlements of Vassouras, Alazão, Espadarte and Morro Boi, where the dunes touch the riverbanks.

A great diversity of fauna, vegetation and habitats can be found in different spots of Lençois that are also sought out by the green-tortoises that climb up the beaches at night to lay their eggs.

Walking through Lençois turns out to be a unique experience, while the landscape creates a mystical aura around you out of the splendor and magnanimity of nature.

Diving into fresh and clear water lagoons nestled in the immensity of the dunes under a burning sun gives one the unmistakable sensation of being in an oasis right in the middle of Brazil. At nights the sky seems to fall down upon your head and you have this impression that stars are close by at the reach of the hands. On a full-moon night it becomes a spectacle of magic and light which leads to an inevitable sense of contemplation.

Stop dreaming! Come and see all that by yourself, Encantes do Nordeste is at your service.