Lopes Mendes, Brazil

Brazil is stunning in its outward show and bold in its approach. Off the coast of Rio de Janeiro is the naturally blessed and extremely picturesque island of Ilha Grande. The island has kept itself away from any human manipulations and has maintained the natural form of beauty of its rugged landscape, forest cover and bio diversity. Ilha Grande is one of the purest remnants of the richest ecosystem in the Atlantic forests of Brazil. Extremely rich in flora and fauna, this place is a home a several endangered species of flora and fauna.

Lopes Mendes Beach is the place to be in once here. You could take a boat ride from Ilha Grande and then walk over for about 20 minutes to reach this beach. Just like Ilha, Lopes Mendes too is far away from the artificialities of life, no fancy frenzy to help the tourist stay, just mere bondage with nature, serene surroundings and amazing scenery to amaze you. if you’re a nature lover, you will love this place, there is simplicity in the atmosphere, and nature unfolding in front of your eyes in its most original form. You will absolutely love it for how close this beach gets you with nature.

You could plan a hiking tip in the weekend in the rainforest, it would be a little long and exhaustive but when you finish hiking and reach the beach to sit by water touching your feet once in a while, the sun setting in front of your eyes and the sky changing colors to become the most beautiful ever, every passing moment, this view will leave you stunned and speechless.

The coast line is big and the beach less crowded, which is one of the best parts about this place, no one will disturb anyone else, if there is something that is bothering you, you could simply move to some other place. The beach isn’t as commercialized hence, there are fewer facilities available and you might have to adjust with a rare change room  down the shore but the amazing thing is that you will not mind it, the beach being less commercialized is in fact one of the most prominent reasons of people visiting this place. Away from the hustle bustle of their city life, this place has freshness and peace to offer to their wandering souls.

Things to do- make sure you stuff yourself with some eatables from the nearby stores, all this is not widely available here, so the prices in the few shops that sell food is quite high. You could have come stuffed from home but that is not allowed, Walk down the beach barefoot and feel the sand dissolve under the weight of your feet like snow, the special thing about Lopes Mendes is that you can only reach here after a hike so once here, you’d want to relax and for that, this is a perfect place. Just lie down sipping in hot milk and look at the clear water and feel happiness filling you. When the tides are low, you could consider swimming but generally the current here is high. If you get lucky, you may spot some extremely rare species of life forms here or even catch the sight a dolphin happily dancing in the cold water of Lopes Mendes.

When in Ilah Grande, do visit Lopes Mendes and reunite with nature.