Lencois Maranhenses, state Maranhao

Ленсойс Мараненсес, штат Мараньяо См. Фото-галерею

There are several regular bus/truck routes between Barreirinhas and São Luís (Maranhão's capital), a distance of about 260km. There are also air taxis from São Luís to Barreirinhas. The Rio Preguiças river connects the park to Atins, a city at the edge of the park. The most important access roads near the park are BR-135, BR-222, MA-404, MA-225.

The National Park is quite extensive and has no access roads. Because of the nature of the park's protected status, most vehicles are not permitted access. Entrance to the park is made exclusively by 4-wheel drive trucks. Composed of large, white, sweeping dunes, at first glance Lençóis Maranhenses looks like an archetypal desert. In fact it isn't actually a desert. Lying just outside the amazon basin, the region is subject to a regular rain season during the beginning of the year. The rains cause a peculiar phenomenon: freshwater collects in the valleys between sand dunes, spotting the desert with blue and green lagoons that reach their fullest between July and September.

The area is also surprisingly home to a variety of fish which, despite the almost complete disappearance of the lagoons during the dry season, have their eggs brought from the sea by birds.

The national park status serves only as a means of protecting the area's ecology; consequently many people are park residents, as is also the case with nearby Jericoacoara.

The inhabitants of the park work primarily as fishermen during the rain season. During the dry season, many leave for neighboring regions to work small plots of land.

Barrierinhas is the starting point for travel to Lençóis Maranhenses National Park and tours on the Preguica River.