Beaches are places for fun. Sports, sunbathing, relaxing, meeting friends and families – usually a feeling of well-being. On the coast alone, there are 622 kilometers and 293 beaches. However, going to the beach has long ceased to be synonymous with facing the Atlantic. In São Paulo, 74 municipalities were prepared to welcome tourists and residents along the voluminous and attractive rivers. With sand and all.
Freshwater beaches that offer structure in the midst of beautiful settings to refresh yourself, with tranquility and nature. They are rivers, lakes, dams and most of the groundwater, with a salinity close to zero.
Many even look like the coast even though they are more than 600 kilometers from the ocean. This binary option of peace and wet leisure – without necessarily going through crowded roads – has convinced many people to change the sea for rivers and their beaches.
They are well-structured places and even with palm trees. The case of the beach in the city of Rifaina, in the region of Franca, which is popular for its nature, beautiful landscapes, good cuisine, many birds and the dammed waters of the Rio Grande – which separates SP and Minas Gerais.
A river that in the capital and greater SP is invariably associated with pollution, Tietê celebrates along the route that crosses the state, reaching the border with Mato Grosso do Sul, where it flows into the Paraná River. On the way, cities like Arealva, Iacanga, Igaraçu do Tietê, Pederneiras and Sabino offer a good structure for those who want to enjoy the waters of the river and still put their feet in the sand.
On the other side of the state, Rosana, the city furthest from the capital, stands out precisely for everything that comes from fresh water. Fishing, for example, benefits from two rivers that meet right on that corner: the Paranapanema, which separates it from Paraná, and the Paraná, which borders Mato Grosso do Sul – a typical triple border. These are endless water, from which tucunarés, pintados, jaús and other less famous fish can be hooked.
For those who do not fish, the city’s Balneário is an ideal place to have fun with family and friends. The place has bathrooms with showers, parking, sand courts, soccer field, playground for children, police station and fire department. It also offers kiosks equipped with barbecue and energy. For the more excited, water sports such as skiing, kayaking and diving in the clear waters of the Paraná River, where, in its proximity, there is a submerged vessel from the 20’s, used in the Paulista dos Tenentes Revolution.
With the same name as the river that bathes it, Paranapanema, in the region of Sorocaba, covers a fifth of the Jurumirim Reservoir – which is all in ten municipalities in the center-south of the state. Jurumirim comes from Tupi and means “small mouth”. It is about 100 kilometers long and, in some stretches, exceeds three in width. Highlights of Paranapanema: Praia dos Holhes, Praia Branca and Ilha do Sol.
Another small notable of the fresh waters is Rubinéia, bordered by the Paraná River, in another junction: border with Mato Grosso do Sul and Minas Gerais. The names of the beaches are suggestive: Praia do Sol, Paia da Esmeralda and Praia do Pedregulho Cor de Rosa.
With a strong vocation for nautical tourism, it is the ideal destination for water sports and sport fishing. The beaches have an infrastructure and a fish-based cuisine that has already become a trademark. Over the water, one of the great attractions of the city is the Rodoferroviária Bridge that goes to Mato Grosso do Sul.
