In the northern part of Brazil in the state of Maranhao, there is the Lencois Maranhenses National Park. To find it, you need to get to the capital of the state of São Luis, which has São Jose Bay, and from there move in a southeast direction. And an amazing picture of white sand dunes filled with azure rainwater will open before your eyes.
Lencois Maranhenses Park was founded on June 2, 1981. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that on its entire territory, which covers an area of more than one and a half thousand square kilometers, there is almost no vegetation. And this is even despite the fact that there are rainy seasons in this region, as a result of which there is a significant amount of precipitation. But, nevertheless, plants are almost not found here.
Although, in general, the state of Maranhao is located on slopes and plateaus, and in some places is covered with humid equatorial forests. But it is the Lencois Maranhenses park that is, in fact, a small in size, but still a desert covered with white sands. During the dry season, you can see high snow-white dunes, the height of which in some places reaches forty meters.
But when the rainy season comes to Brazil, the picture of the Lencois Maranhenses Park changes significantly. Lakes with turquoise rainwater are formed between the sand dunes. This picturesque phenomenon attracts not only tourists. In the water of the newly formed lakes, fish and crabs have time to start. And this despite the fact that during the period of drought, the lakes dry up completely. Fish and crabs are brought here in the form of caviar by birds arriving from the sea. In addition, mangroves grow on the territory of the park, in which deer, golden hares and other animals live. Locals use the reservoirs and fish in them.
Travelers are increasingly coming to Lencois Maranhenses Park. Of course, they try to catch the rains here: then you can swim in the reservoirs, sunbathe on the white sand and ride sandboards from the 40-meter height of the dunes. But since the founding of the park, the territory has been under the control of local authorities. Driving in Lencois Maranhenses is strictly prohibited. Exceptions are excursion groups brought here by local travel companies. Others have the opportunity to ride bicycles in the park.
Promotional video:
Such an unusual view of the park has been formed over many millennia. Snow-white sand dunes were formed due to the accumulation of the river. Quartz, carried out from the mainland, was deposited at the mouth, and winds and sea currents crushed the quartz into small grains of sand and carried it back to the mainland. This is how a white sandy plain was formed.
Although the locals pass on a legend that has survived from the times of the Indian tribe inhabiting the local lands. The legend says that the inhabitants of the tribe once woke up and found their settlement, covered with a thick layer of sand, it is not clear where it came from during the night.
And the Brazilian director Adruce Waddington, impressed by the beauty of the Lençois Maranhenses National Park, shot a motion picture called "House of Sand", which was released in 2005.
