Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil

This state is famous for its beaches and dunes, especially around Natal. The coastline begins to change here, becoming gradually drier and less green, as it shifts from running north-south to east-west. The vast sugar cane plantations and few remaining stands of Mata Atlântica (coastal forest) are replaced by the dry caatinga vegetation and caju orchards. The people are known as 'Potiguares', after an indigenous tribe that once resided in the state.