Praia do Leão

Fernando de Noronha


The wildest of Noronha's big three, broad and rugged Praia do Leão is perhaps the one place that best encapsulates Noronha's impressive isolation. It's a long stretch of golden sand fronted by gradually darkening blue waters that reach out to a pair of rocky islands just offshore.

On the mainland a beach of this quality would be lined with vendors selling coconut water and cocktails but here it's almost always empty.