The Sertões Kitesurf corridor
About 175 km of chained downwinds along Rio Grande do Norte's northern coast, riding the steady 22 – 28 kt easterly trade wind from São Miguel do Gostoso to the Ceará state line. The corridor that put the state on the international kite map and still reads as a rite of passage for riders worldwide.
The four stages
Ridden in sequence, with overnight stops at each landing. A chase buggy carries gear and riders between bases.
São Miguel do Gostoso → Galinhos
Classic ~55 km downwind along the northern coast. Riding at 20–28 kt past empty white-sand beaches, ending at Galinhos by ferry.
Galinhos → Macau
40 km of flat-water riding past pink salt pans and shallow lagoons. Intermediate level, ideal as the second day of the northern downwind chain.
Macau → Ponta do Mel
50 km along a desolate coastline of dunes and oil rigs. Advanced — there are no exit points for 35 km, only the open ocean.
Ponta do Mel → Icapuí (CE)
Final 30 km that crosses the state line into Ceará. Half-day ride past red cliffs and remote fishing villages.
What the corridor is
The corridor is the product of two decades of operation by kite schools and downwind agencies along RN's northern coast. Each stage is a single day: you launch in the morning on the east-southeast trade, watch the wind climb from 11 am to 4 pm, and land at a fishing village by late afternoon — São Miguel do Gostoso, Galinhos, Macau, Ponta do Mel, Icapuí. Simple pousadas, seafood by the water, and the next day you reload a buggy or catamaran for the following stage.
From 2021 onward the Sertões Kitesurf event cemented the corridor as an international sport itinerary, with rally legs running through all of the landing points above. Even outside the rally calendar, the corridor is the anchor product European kite schools sell as 'Brazil Northeast Kite Safari'. The single best month is October — cleanest wind, firmest sun, lowest rain probability. To chain all four stages, allow 7 to 10 days and the ability to ride comfortably in 25+ knots.
Build the corridor into a trip
Use our planner to combine one or more corridor stages with rest days between Pipa, Gostoso and Natal.