The coast west of Fortaleza in Brazil

This long beach lies 8 km Northwest of the centre of Fortaleza, where the Rio Ceará flows into the sea (take a 'Grande Circular 1' bus). Here are the ruins of the 1603

, the first Portuguese settlement in the area, partially covered by dunes, from which you can watch the beautiful sunsets. The palm-fringed beaches west of the Rio Ceará are cleaner but have strong waves. An iron bridge has been built across this river, making the area more accessible and open to development, as at

, 22 km to the northwest, and

, 5 km further north.

Cumbuco is a long, white-sand beach backed by foreign-owned hotels and condominiums, a few palms and a handful of little beach shacks; and has a problem with rubbish. The beach itself is nothing special, unless you're a kitesurfer in which case you'll be amazed. There is no better place in Brazil and perhaps the world to learn how to kitesurf; ideal conditions can be guaranteed almost every day of the year. Sadly, as Cumbuco is largely European-owned and locals can no longer afford to buy property here, the town has entirely lost its Brazilian personality. Portuguese is rarely heard and the only locals that remain work in the hotels or restaurants. As well as kitesurfing and windsurfing, there are buggies, horse riding and

, as well as dunes (known locally as

), which you can slide down into the freshwater

.

Some 58 km northwest of Fortaleza,

is a village set in a cove with a wide beach, dunes and inland lagoons. There is strong surf and surfing and fishing championships are held here. From Pecém it is 19 km by road to

, a 14-km-long beach with a long palm- covered point extending into the sea. Nearby is

, a village that maintains colonial characteristics, where embroidered hammocks, a trademark of Ceará, are made.

Pecém and Taíba are serviced by regular buses from Fortaleza; both have a few simple

.

Some 106 km northwest of Fortaleza,

is a fishing port which hosts the most important

on the northwest coast, including street dancing and parades, decorated boats, sports championships and a beauty contest. It has some lovely deserted white-sand beaches with good bathing and surfing, and the people are very friendly. There are several

in the centre. Restaurant

has good fish dishes.

bar has

at weekends. Buses from Fortaleza run at least every hour during the day to the central

.

West of Paracuru and 12 km from the town of Paraipaba is

, a very scenic beach with hills, dunes and palms by the shore. There's a fishing village on one of the hills and nearby are some small but pleasant waterfalls. About 3 km west of town is

, a lake surrounded by dunes. Local legend says that one of the hills, Morro do Cascudo, has hidden treasure left by French pirates. There are six daily buses from Fortaleza to Paracuru and frequent transfers from there to Lagoinha; there are plenty of cheap seafood restaurants and

.

Further northwest, some 135 km from Fortaleza, is

, access point to a series of beaches that have kept their natural beauty and, until the mid-1990s, were untouched by tourism. North of Trairi, 15 km by road, is

, where pools that are good for snorkelling form near the beach at low tide. There are three daily buses from Fortaleza to Fleixeiras.

About 5 km west is

, a scenic beach with interesting rock formations and shifting dunes. Further west, at the mouth of the Rio Mundaú, is

, another beautiful area, with a beach, palms, dunes and an old working lighthouse. Take a raft across to the spit and walk for hours on deserted sands. Access roads from Imboaca and Cana to the south are often impassable because of shifting dunes; at low tide it is possible to reach it along the beach from Fleixeiras. There is a fishing village near the beach with some

and restaurants.