By Aaron Luz · 25 years in tourism · Last reviewed October 2026
A landscape that looks like it shouldn't exist — white sand dunes filled with turquoise rainwater lagoons, as far as you can see.
By Aaron Luz · 25 years in tourism · Last reviewed October 2026
June to September is peak season, and it's peak for a reason: the lagoons between the dunes are at their fullest and clearest after the rainy season, before evaporation starts emptying them again. Come in November or December and many lagoons will have dried out entirely — the dunes are still striking, but you'll miss the postcard shot.
Over 1,500 square kilometres of rolling white sand dunes, and in the rainy months, thousands of rainwater lagoons form in the valleys between them — some small, some large enough to swim in, all startlingly clear because the sand filters the water as it collects. From the air, or from the top of a dune at sunset, it genuinely doesn't look real.
"Lençóis" means "bedsheets" — the name locals gave the dunes for how they look spread across the landscape from a distance. But technically, this isn't a desert at all: Maranhão gets heavy rainfall most of the year, which is exactly why the lagoons exist. A real desert couldn't produce this landscape — it's one of the only dune fields on Earth that fills with fresh water on a yearly cycle.
A small, quiet fishing village right at the edge of the dunes — fewer tour buses, more direct access, and the better base if you have the extra travel time to reach it.
The main gateway town — more infrastructure, easier to reach, and still a short boat or buggy ride from the best lagoons.
A handful of proper hotels sit just outside town if you want a pool and air conditioning after a day in the dunes.
Honestly — only if you give it at least three nights. I've had people try to do this as a one-night detour from a Northeast beach trip, and it mostly means hours of 4x4 travel for a rushed look at one lagoon. This is a destination that rewards slowing down: a full day in the dunes, a boat trip up the Rio Preguiças, and time to actually swim in a lagoon rather than just photograph it.
— Aaron
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