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State of Brazil
Photo: Iain and Sarah from London, UK, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Maranhão is a state in northeastern Brazil. Maranhão has the second longest coastline in the country, resulting in a great diversity of ecosystems. There are 640 km of tropical beaches, the Amazon rainforest, several varieties of cerrados, mangroves, delta in the open sea, dunes, the only desert in the world with thousands of lagoons with crystalline waters.
Marechal Cunha Machado International Airport is 13 km from the center of São Luís.
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Imperatriz · Regional · IMP
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São Luís is the capital of the Brazilian state of Maranhão. It's known for its colonial Historical Center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is a common stopover for visiting the stunning Lençóis Maranhenses.
Micareta is the largest off-season carnival in the region and one of the largest in the state
Alcântara is a town in Maranhão, Brazil. Mostly visited on day trips from São Luís to get an even more colonial feeling.
Atins is a fishermen's village in Maranhão turned kitesurfing hotspot nestled on the estuary of Rio Preguiças (to the east) into the Atlantic Ocean (to the north), a few km away from the dunes of Lençóis Maranhenses National Park (to the west).
Balsas is a city in Maranhão.
Barra do Corda is a city of 89,000 people (2021) in central Maranhão.
Barreirinhas is a city in Northern Maranhão. Mainly serving as a base for visitors to Lençóis Maranhenses, its riverside setting and sandy patches gives it a charm of its own.
Caburé is a hamlet in Northern Maranhão. Beautifully situated between the river and the sea, sometimes covered in a fine layer of sand carried in by certain winds.
Caxias is a city of 157,000 people (2022) in Eastern Maranhão. It is one of the largest economic centers in the state, and an important political, cultural and population center in the state of Maranhão.
Grajaú is a city of 71,000 people (2021) in Central Maranhão.
Imperatriz is a city in western Maranhão. Second largest of its state, with some 260,000 inhabitants (2020), it provides a peek into a quite distant Brazil.
Mandacaru is a village in Northern Maranhão, on the outskirts of Lençóis Maranhenses Mostly serving as a quick stop for daytrippers from Barreirinhas, there is now a small inn in the building.
Paulino Neves is a tiny town in Northern Maranhão. Historically a stopover between Parnaíba and Lençóis Maranhenses, it is trying to develop as a destination of its own.
Santo Amaro do Maranhão, better known as Santo Amaro, is a small city in Northern Maranhão, near Lençóis Maranhenses National Park. It's a good alternative to Barreirinhas for visiting the national park.
Santa Inês is a city of 89,000 people (2019) in Western Maranhão that is known for its beaches and lakes.
Tutóia is a town in Northern Maranhão, mainly only a stopover between Lençóis Maranhenses and Parnaíba.
Ila do Caju is a private nature reserve in Maranhão.
Ilha das Canárias is an island in Maranhão, a few kilometers from the main mouth of the river Parnaíba. It is home to some 3,000 people, most of who congregate in the settlement known as Canárias, or Porto das Canárias.
Lençóis Maranhenses is a national park in the Maranhão state of northeastern Brazil. The park is also a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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