Moses Trail, the incredible beach in Brazil where "the waters part" and travelers walk a sandy path in the middle of the sea.

"It's magical! We've been there several times and it never ceases to amaze us . The Camino de Moisés is a very unique natural phenomenon that allows you to walk on a 1-kilometer sandbank in the middle of the sea ," says Clota Díaz Ordoñez, an Argentine who lives in Brazil with her boyfriend Ezequiel Favero, and has been creating content on social media for years.

To get there, you don't need to pay for any excursions: just rent a car, take a van, or use a local app (Vip Selec) to Barra Grande Beach, 6 kilometers from Maragogi. The buggy usually has a predetermined route, and you'll need to arrange it in advance with the driver.

Once you arrive at the appropriate location on the day and time, the tour consists of walking along Moses Trail, which appears at low tide . It's free!

Of course, it is so named because of its similarity to the biblical story of Moses , who led the Hebrew exodus to the promised land.

Known as "the Brazilian Caribbean," Maragogi is a town in northeastern Brazil that has gained worldwide fame for its natural pools. When the tide is low, you can snorkel and dive thanks to the coral reefs located just a few kilometers from the coast.

With shades of emerald green and turquoise, the warm Maragogi sea often attracts tourists on boat trips, where they can see a wide variety of colorful fish. It can also be explored by car or buggy.

Although it is located in the state of Alagoas , whose capital is Maceió , Maragogi borders the state of Pernambuco, whose capital is Recife . The famous Porto de Galinhas destination is also notable in this area.

Therefore, those who go to Maragogi, Maceió or Porto de Galinhas can take a trip to Barra Grande Beach (in Portuguese, Praia da Barra Grande ), about 6 kilometers north of the center of Maragogi.

There's no shortage of travelers who have complained on social media because they went as far as Moses' Way and didn't see it. That is, they arrived when the tide was already high .

So they didn't hesitate to make statements like "Don't go!", "What a disappointment!" or "You can never see it!", including the most unusual comment: "It's full of street vendors!"

In an interview with Clarín, Clota Díaz Ordoñez explains why many tourists get frustrated and advises on how to avoid the most common setbacks: "Both the natural pools in the Maragogi area and the Camino de Moisés occur at the same time, when the tides are at their lowest."

Most people book boat tours to the natural pools and, as a bonus, take tourists to the Moses Trail. Some agencies even offer snorkeling in the natural pools, hiking the Moses Trail, and exploring the beautiful Antunes Beach.

But the excursions always prioritize visiting the natural pools , and by the time they reach Barra Grande Beach, the phenomenon is over.

The catamaran arrives later at Moses Trail because it goes to more distant pools when the tides are low and stays there for an hour. If you add the round trip, you're talking about an extra 45 minutes, so there's no chance of seeing the "waters part" at Barra Grande.

If you take a boat trip—which is faster because it goes to pools closer to the coast—you may have a better chance of seeing both. However, the chances of seeing Moses' Trail completely clear will still be difficult: you'll only see it with rising water.

"Each traveler has to decide what they want. If the plan is to walk the Camino de Moisés, enjoy the hike, and take photos, it's not a good idea to do a two-for-one: the ideal is to dedicate a whole day to it. And arrive by land by car or van," Clota advises.

Like every tourist spot in the world, Moses Way also becomes an open-air shopping mall. "There are little tables with umbrellas, hammocks for taking pictures, boats selling drinks—alcoholic and non-alcoholic—and the typical espetinhos (beef, chicken, and shrimp skewers)... They sell cell phone cases, sunglasses, and hats," Clota explains.

From Christmas to Easter is the busiest time of year for tourists. Another point to keep in mind is that Barra Grande is "a very nice beach to spend the day, with many restaurants and bars. Plus, the tide rises slowly over six hours, which makes for a great time."

"The best way to see the Moses Trail is when the tides are as close to 0.0 as possible, as low as possible. You can enjoy them at 0.1 and 0.2 , and this happens a few days a month," explains Clota, who and her boyfriend created a tide table until the end of 2025. And they make a new one every year.

He summarizes what happens to tourists with the tides: "In one day, there are four peaks of low and high tides, alternating between them. The Brazilian Navy publishes a document that is cumbersome for tourists, and many agencies publish everything, even though there are two high tides and one low tide that occurs at night."

That's why Clota and Ezequiel focus only on the daytime low tide: "If we leave it at 0.3, it's because if someone is in the area, they'll get an idea of what it's like, but they know that in some places the water will reach their ankles. There are also windy days when the tides rise more quickly, and that's difficult to predict."

In all their boards, the Argentinian boys clarify that " the closer the tide is to zero, the more exposed Moses' Way is ." And also

Clota Diaz Ordoñez and Ezequiel Favero are the creators of Vivo Porto, a digital communications project specializing in tourism in Porto de Galinhas.

They live in Porto with their two cats (Kiki and Nome), and since 2018 they have been creating original content on social media (in Spanish and Portuguese): the idea is to provide practical information and a local perspective , to help travelers from all over the world plan their trip to Porto de Galinhas and its surroundings.

The website is vivoportodegalinhas.com/es , and they use @vivoportodegalinhas for Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube .

The name Moses Way is due to its similarity to what is described in the biblical story during the Hebrew exodus to the promised land.

According to the Bible, after years of slavery and the ten plagues that befell the Egyptians , Pharaoh authorized their departure. However, he soon regretted it and went looking for them.

Trapped between the Egyptian army and the sea, the Hebrews despaired, but with the mediation of Moses, Yahweh or Jehovah divided the waters of the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to cross it without problems .

The soldiers tried to follow them, but the waters returned to their course and the Egyptian army drowned .