Brazil Lencois Maranhenses Sandboarding

Maranhao, Brazil · Brazil

Easy7 daysSouth America~£600 est.

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Overview

For half the year Lençóis Maranhenses is a desert of blinding white dunes; for the other half it is a water garden. The rains from January to May fill the hollows between the 40 m dunes with thousands of freshwater lagoons — emerald, turquoise, sapphire — and from June to September you walk barefoot over the ridgelines and swim in one warm pool after another. Sandboard a dune face into Lagoa Azul, then float on your back while the wind redraws the crests around you. Wolffish sit out the dry season buried in damp mud and reappear with the water — one of the odder life cycles on Earth. Logistics are half the adventure: Barreirinhas is the gateway (four rough hours from São Luís), the park is entered by 4WD truck along riverbeds, and the multi-day crossing to the oasis hamlets of Queimada dos Britos and Baixa Grande — sleeping in hammocks at fishermen's houses — is how you get the dunes to yourself. June to September hits the sweet spot of full lagoons and dry skies. The equatorial sun is ferocious: walk early and late. Around £600 for a week including transfers and a guided crossing.