Lencois Maranhenses is a magical natural wonderland

IT LOOKS like a huge, natural water park. With white-sand dunes towering up to 40 metre high, and jawdropping crystal-blue lagoons, this place is a piece of heaven on Earth.

An aerial view of the sand dunes at the Lencois Maranhenses National Park.

NO, IT’S not one of those newfangled, man-made swimming pools.

This is Brazil’s Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, on the country’s northeast coast — and to us, it just looks like one big, natural water park.

The park’s white-sand dunes (some tower up to 40 metres high when conditions are right) are speckled with crystal-blue lagoons, which form tropical playgrounds in what otherwise looks like total desert.

The lagoons can swell to three metres deep and 30 degrees celcius, making them swimmable during certain times of year.

The white sand dunes.

They’re expansive, empty and open for human exploration.

It’s a stunning sight. Picture: Fred Schinke

Lençóis Maranhenses is too rainy to be considered a technical “desert” — it gets too much rainfall which results in these fabulous lagoons that well up in nooks and crannies of the park’s 383,000 windswept acres (1549 square kilometres).

With World Cup fever, Brazil is on the mind. You'd never think this photo was taken in Brazil, at Lençóis Maranhenses pic.twitter.com/qzFdrSKkN7

— Holiday Transfers (@HTransfers) June 17, 2014

Some lagoons fill with fish that swim in from the two rivers that traverse the park. Birds and turtles abound, and swimming is allowed in some pools that are deep enough. You’re free to hike and bike the park’s expanse — it’s recommended to go with a guide so you don’t get lost in what visitors call the surreal, desert-like landscape.

Want to go to Lençóis Maranhenses so bad, it is just so beautiful 😍 pic.twitter.com/OpXEWgblpc

— maia (@maia_laws) August 13, 2014

To visit Lençóis Maranhenses, you’ll fly into the city of São Luís and make your way to the town of Barreirinhas. From there, visitors can take Jeeps to Lençóis Maranhenses, where this slice of Brazilian majesty will be all yours.

Spot the person on this huge sand dune. Picture: Fred Schinke

@lay_thoughts @Hell__Silence BEAUTIFUL right??That's " lençóis maranhenses"north pic.twitter.com/Z9RGp3WLWe

— thiago platzhero (@whyradioactive) July 19, 2014

This article was written by Suzy Strutner from Huffington Post and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.

El Parque Nacional de Lençóis Maranhenses a orillas del río Preguiças, se encuentra en el estado de Maranhão, Brasil pic.twitter.com/IVy08j74Eh

— Juan Carlos Moreno (@JcmorenoJuan) April 25, 2014

Lencois.

lencois maranhenses, the only desert that has thousands of lagoon there. in the state of brazil. wishlist! pic.twitter.com/CbJRpjX68i

— ･ㅅ･ (@shifaxxi) September 25, 2014

No monkey business please. Picture: Fred Schinke

Why not visit? Picture: LuizaCarneiro