Northern Maranhão and the Reentrâncias MaranhensesNorthern Maranhão and the Reentrâncias Maranhenses in Brazil

Northern Maranhão is separated from neighbouring Para by the Reentrâncias Maranhenses, the wildest, most remote and least visited stretch of coast in Brazil's northeast. It is made up of deep inlets thick with mangroves and brackish swamps, jewel-like forested islands and vast dunes of shifting sand. The

are home to a scattered handful of fishing communities and millions of rare and endangered endemic and migratory waterbirds, making them one of the world's most important wetland areas, protected by

, www.ramsar.org (see also www.wetlands.org). This is pioneer territory for tourists of any kind, including birders.

Offshore, in the

, are the most extensive reef systems in South America dotted with the broken remains of some 200 ships, from Portuguese Caravels to modern tankers and with very rich marine life, with many endemics and abundant potato cod and large sharks. Visibility is around 35m, with an average depth of 30 m and water temperature a balmy 32°C. The reef is almost completely unexplored by divers as it is almost 70 km offshore and some 200 km from São Luís. There are few operators and tides and currents are very strong.

The

span the coast between Alcântara and Carutapera on the Para border. Access is difficult as there are few roads, little infrastructure and scant accommodation. The main centre for the little tourism that exists are the coastal fishing villages of

and

, both connected by daily, bumpy bus to Alcântara. Only part of the road is paved to the former and access is tough in the wet and there a very simple

in both villages.

Boats leave Apicum-Açu for the

, a small fishing community lost in time, huge dunes and mangroves near Parcel Manoel Luís State Marine Park. At present diving in that park can be organized (with plenty of notice) only through larger dive shops in São Paulo.