Praia de Águas Belas, Coastal beach in Cascavel, Brazil

Praia de Águas Belas is a beach in Cascavel, Ceará, 65 km from Fortaleza, where the Mal Cozinhado river meets the sea. The wide pale sand holds a large rounded thatch shelter in the foreground, with smaller thatch umbrellas on wooden posts shading green and white plastic tables and chairs. Tall palms grow straight from the sand on the right, beside a bench and a small yellow boat.

Praia de Águas Belas lies in the municipality of Cascavel, in the state of Ceará, about 65 km from Fortaleza. Its name comes from the meeting of the Mal Cozinhado river with the sea, the feature that defines the beach. The settlement grew around this river mouth, where beach stalls and guesthouses now serve visitors who arrive by the CE-040 highway.

Beach stalls and guesthouses line the sand where the Mal Cozinhado meets the sea, and buggy rides from the beach cross the caatinga scrub inland. The name Águas Belas, "beautiful waters", refers to that river-and-ocean meeting point.

The area is accessible via the CE-040 highway, located roughly 65 kilometers from Fortaleza and 40 kilometers from Beberibe. Visitors should plan their visit around tide times, as natural pools and water formations are best seen during low tide.

The Mal Cozinhado River meets the ocean here and creates visible water formations during low tide that differ from the rest of the beach. This natural boundary between freshwater and seawater produces an ever-changing landscape.