Lencois Maranhenses
Lencois Maranhenses is a magical desert of white sand dunes in northern Brazil. In the rainy season, thousands of blue and green lagoons form between the dunes like natural swimming pools.
It looks like a giant bedsheet of sand dotted with sparkling pools, which is why its name means bedsheets. People love hiking over the soft dunes and swimming in the clear, cool lagoons.
Pools in the Sand
When the rains come, water fills the low spots between the dunes and makes bright blue lagoons. You can wade and swim in them, and they feel wonderfully cool on a hot day.
Best Time to Visit
The lagoons are fullest from about June to September, right after the rainy season. That is when the dunes look their most beautiful, dotted with hundreds of pools.
Walking the Dunes
Guides lead visitors barefoot across the soft white sand between the lagoons. From the top of a dune you can see waves of sand and water stretching to the horizon.