Fernando de Noronha

On this hike, you’ll see many of the natural wonders Fernando de Noronha has to offer. The trail winds through the island’s unique tropical ecosystem and ends at a lookout point over a bay ringed by beautiful beaches and studded with dramatic sea stacks. 

Boardwalks on the island protect native plants from trampling and erosion. Guides offer binoculars to visitors, so they can keep a respectful distance from wildlife and fragile coastlines.

Spinner dolphins, like all dolphins, are marine mammals, meaning they breathe air and have to live young. Dolphins are highly social, intelligent creatures. They usually live in family groups, and communicate using sound and body language. 

 And, tropical cyclones (hurricanes) are almost nonexistent south of the equator, making for seas that surround the islands unusually warm and tranquil for the tropics.

It’s also possible that these highly intelligent and social creatures leap and twirl as communication or play.
 

This popular dive features dramatic volcanic-rock formations. Lava flows generated the arches, nooks, underwater caves of the sea floor in this area. These varied forms, from enormous caves to tiny cracks and crevices, provide habitats for equally varied marine life.

At Fernando de Noronha critical habitat is preserved and protected for the profoundly endangered hawksbill sea turtle. These relatively small sea turtles prefer to stay in shallow water, where they feed on sponges.

The volcanic rock of Fernando de Noronha is relatively young—between 1 and 12 million years old. It is still rough and irregular, forming jagged, dramatic shapes that have not yet been worn smooth by erosion. 

The beaches along the island’s north coast have been described as some of the most beautiful in Brazil—a nation well known for its love of sea and sand. 

Harder, steeper rocks along the coast stick out from the flat sand and form sea stacks. Sea stacks and other rock formations create sheltered areas and tide pools that are home to crabs, lobster, sea stars, sea urchins, and other small animals that would otherwise be battered by waves.

While much of Noronha’s richness lies offshore, the island’s land also supports diverse ecosystems. The big island is partially covered with Atlantic rain forest, as well as the only saltwater mangrove forest in the southern Atlantic. 

Many corals grow around islands, forming ring-like structures called atolls. The circle of coral creates a sheltered, shallow lagoon between the coral and the shoreline. Coral atolls protect beaches and seashores from pounding waves and storms. 

Every depth of the cliff hosts a different set of species. Biologists compare coral reefs to tropical rainforests. Both are layered systems of habitats that support some of the greatest biodiversity on Earth.

Tourist guides boast that Noronha’s sharks are unusually docile, and even friendly, to swimmers and divers, because of the abundance of fish prey.

This coral atoll, or ring-shaped reef, lies near, but not directly adjacent to, the island of Fernando de Noronha. This atoll no longer has an island at its center—the volcanic rock was worn away by the ocean. 

Luckily, Atol das Rocas is small and economically unimportant to humans, so no species were brought there. The atoll has been preserved as an important sea-bird habitat.

Many bird colonies are very crowded and can host dozens of species. Each individual stakes out a tiny claim, sometimes barely bigger than the bird itself, and defends its territory from intruders. 

The “Devil’s Hole” is an unusual coastal feature called a blowhole. Blowholes only exist in a few locations around the world. Their unique geology generates blasting jets of water that shoot up through holes due to wave action. 

Though the violent eruptions often keep wildlife away, blowholes are definitely entertaining for human visitors.

Blowholes are not just geologically rare—they only “erupt” when conditions are just right. The wave must enter the sea cave at the right angle, flowing directly into the mouth, where there is no escape except for upwards through the vent.

The islands of Fernando de Noronha are made primarily of basalt and phonolite, which are solidified lava. Basalt and phonolite come from thin, runny lava that flows smoothly across Earth’s surface and cools very quickly in the open air.

As the lava rapidly cools, it shrinks, often forming vertical cracks or joints, which easily erode into steep cliffs, like those seen here. Wave action further erodes the cracked rocks into narrow sea caves.