The favourite destination of mass tourism, the coastline of the Atlantic Forest ecosystem is of great cultural importance and has countless possibilities for practising ecotourism and sports.
Brazil has over 8,000 kilometres of coastline, with beaches, wild coasts, coves, dunes, cliffs, islands and spits. The Northeast region is famous for the beauty of its beaches, ecotourism paradises, many still wild or seldom visited. Owing to the geographical diversity, water sports may be practised at various points. Walking, camping and bird watching are activities which are growing each year to balance to the traditional sand, sun and sea leisure.
Snorkelling and scuba diving may be practised mainly in cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Angra dos Reis, Parati, Búzios (all in Rio de Janeiro State), Recife (Pernambuco), Ubatuba and São Sebastião (São Paulo), Natal (Rio Grande do Norte) and São Luis (Maranhão), among others. However the high point of diving in Brazil is the Fernando de Noronha National Marine Park and the Abrolhos National Marine Park where between the months of July and October, Jubarte whales may be observed, in addition to a great wealth of aquatic fauna.