Ceará has a wonderful landscape of beaches with dunes and cliffs

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Ceará - Guia de Turismo
Ceará Tourism Guide

The State of Ceará has one of the most beautiful tourist spots in Brazil, with a rich culture associated with beautiful landscapes, among beaches, mountains and waterfalls.

Ceará has one of the largest and most important coastal strips in the country from a tourist point of view, which extends for 573 km, in which mangroves and restingas, typical coastal vegetation, predominate, as well as areas without vegetation covered by dunes.

Even with very low altitudes, rainfall and humidity are higher than in the Sertaneja Depression.

Average temperatures range from 22 °C to 32 °C.

The coastal plain has a diverse geography, which means that the state has many beaches with coconut groves, dunes, barriers (also called cliffs) – sedimentary walls that follow the coastline and, in some stretches, have colorful tones – and mangrove wetlands, in which there is great biodiversity.

It is no coincidence that the symbol of Ceará is a raft. The state has 573 kilometers of beaches, many of which still preserve the coastal culture of artisanal fishing.

Punctuated by dunes, lagoons and mangroves and sunny at almost every time of the year, the coast of Ceará is one of the most sought-after tourist destinations in the country.

Europeans began to arrive in the lands of present-day Ceará shortly before the landing of Alvares Cabral in Bahia: on February 2, 1500, the Spanish navigator Vicente Pinzón would have reached the coast of Mucuripe, in the region of present-day Fortaleza.

Mapa Theberge Ceará 1861
Mapa Theberge Ceará 1861

The story of which Ceará is most proud, however, is that of the jangadeiro Francisco José do Nascimento, nicknamed the Dragon of the Sea.

Born in Aracati, on the east coast, he managed to prevent the landing of slaves at the port of Mucuripe, in one of the most important chapters of the abolitionist struggle in the country.

Videos about Ubajara, Sítio do Bosco in Tianguá, Quixadá, Jericoacoara, Canoa Quebrada, Morro Branco, Praia do Futuro in Fortaleza, Juazeiro do Norte and Canindé.

Tourist Spots of Fortaleza and Ceará

Ceará, after all, was the first Brazilian province to free its slaves, in 1884, four years before the signing of the Golden Law. A good way to enter the landscapes and cultural universe of Ceará is to visit its capital.

A metropolis with a lively cultural life, from here you can go to the east coast, called the Costa do Sol Nascente, or to the west, the Costa do Sol Poente.

Tourist Map of Ceará

You can also head to the sertão, if the goal is to get to know the faith of the people: Juazeiro do Norte is the epicenter of devotion to Father Cícero, a historical character taken as a saint throughout the Northeast.

Ceará map of 1629 by Albernaz
Ceará map of 1629 by Albernaz

Ceará also offers visitors the friendly Sobral, its second largest city, founded in 1841 and today the guardian of a rich architectural complex listed as a national historical heritage site.

Unlike the rest of the state, where the heat reigns, milder climates can be enjoyed in small Ubajara; located in a mountainous region, at 847 meters of altitude and between areas of Atlantic forest, the city is the gateway to the Ubajara National Park, which protects a spectacular set of limestone caves.

Mapa Turístico do Ceará
Ceará Tourist Map

The most famous beaches in Ceará are Jericoacoara Beach, Canoa Quebrada Beach and Porto das Dunas Beach, which have achieved international fame.

Regionally, other outstanding beaches are Praia das Fontes, Morro Branco, Icaraí, Presídio, Baleia, Flecheiras, Cumbuco, Ponta Grossa, Lagoinha and Barra do Cauipe.

Map of Ceará from 1800
Map of Ceará made by Mariano Gregório do Amaral in 1800

The coast of Ceará is crossed by two highways, called the Costa do Sol Nascente and the Costa do Sol Poente, which, from Fortaleza, head towards the east and west coasts, respectively.

WHEN TO GO TO CEARÁ

  • From July to December, to enjoy the sunny coastline. Between January and March the beaches are crowded and prices increase.
  • Between December and May, the rainy and hot season, to enjoy the fullest lagoons, the dunes and the beaches.
  • From January to June, when the municipality of Sobral, with an average temperature of 30°C, gains milder air.
  • On the three great pilgrimages in honor of Padre Cícero: on September 15; from October 30 to November 2; and from January 30 to February 2.

CLIMATE IN CEARÁ

Ceará is characterized by the presence of two types of climate: humid tropical and semi-arid. Located between 2ºS and 7ºS, the state is very close to the Equator, suffering the direct action of the trade winds, which intensify the wind regime in the region.

In most of its territory, the semi-arid climate predominates, thus registering a large number of periodic droughts. The humid and sub-humid portion of the state is concentrated in part of the coast and in areas with higher topographic elevation.

Climate in Ceará
Climate in Ceará

The wetlands of Ceará correspond to regions of higher altimetry, as well as portions of the coast of Ceará. The rainy season occurs between January and July with a pre-rainy season in December.

In these regions, annual rainfall rates exceed 900 mm, ensuring local humidity for about six months.

Two meteorological systems predominate for the occurrence of rainfall in the state: the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), which causes humidity in the region during the maximum of its oscillation in the Southern Hemisphere, and the Atlantic Equatorial Mass, which carries the humid trade winds. In the upper portions of the state, the orography is responsible for the humidity in the different residual massifs found in the middle of the Sertaneja Depression.

The semi-arid climate, marked by water scarcity throughout the year, predominates in almost the entire state, especially in its central portion. About 92% of the territory of Ceará registers this climatic type, which affects the foothills of the mountains and the region of the Sertaneja Depression with more intensity.

The annual temperature range in the region is low, in contrast to the evapotranspiration rates.

While the rainy season lasts three to five months (usually from February to April), drought can extend for up to nine months in the state.

Under normal rainfall conditions, rainfall rates are between 500 and 800 mm, which leads to a water deficit for agriculture and the population living in the semi-arid region.

Ceará Tourism and Travel Guide

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