Kite Area guide
Atins, Atins & Lençóis Maranhenses
Atins is riding as exploration: the Preguiças river mouth, tidal flats and freshwater lagoons behind a desert of white dunes.
When to kite
Best months: July, August, September, October, November, December, January.
About this Kite Area
Atins sits where the Preguiças river meets the Atlantic at the edge of the Lençóis Maranhenses. There are no paved roads in — you arrive by boat up the river or by 4x4 across the sand.
The riding is not one spot but several: the river mouth, tidal flats with notable chop, the open coast, and the freshwater lagoons that fill the dunes behind. The season runs July to January on trade winds from the east, north-east and east-north-east.
Conditions here shift quickly with tide, thermal strength, wind direction or a passing front, which is why this suits intermediate and advanced riders rather than first-timers. Tidal currents and shifting sandbanks that move the water access are the hazards to plan around, and infrastructure is limited if something goes wrong. Kite schools, pousadas, restaurants and boat and 4x4 logistics are all present in the village.