Jericoacoara National Park

Jericoacoara National Park covers 8,000 hectares of dunes, lagoons, wetlands, and restinga (coastal scrubland) on the Ceará coast. It was established in 2002 and encompasses the village of Jericoacoara as well as the surrounding dunefield, several freshwater and brackish lagoons, mangroves along the river channels, and the beach for several kilometres in either direction. The park is managed by ICMBIO, the Brazilian federal environmental agency.

The dune landscape that makes Jeri distinctive is the park's primary feature: mobile dunes that shift position with the prevailing winds, creating a constantly changing topography. The lagoons form where the water table meets the dune surface — freshwater seeping up through the sand — and they vary in colour and depth by season. The park's beach sections have sea turtle nesting from September to March.

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The national park was created in 2002 partly at the request of the town's own residents, who could see what unrestricted development was doing to similar beach towns along the Ceará coast. The lack of roads through the park is the single most important factor in maintaining Jericoacoara's character — without it, the village would have become just another beach resort accessible by regular car within a decade.

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