Drone Rules for Parque Estadual de Terra Ronca
Drones are heavily restricted within the Parque Estadual de Terra Ronca (PETER) due to strict environmental zoning and cave heritage protections. Under standard DECEA rules, professional mapping flights require registration on the SARPAS platform, an altitude ceiling of 120 meters (400 feet) above ground level, and a m
Geographically, the Parque Estadual de Terra Ronca is situated in northeastern Goiás, specifically split between the municipalities of São Domingos and Guarani de Goiás. The region features one of the most prominent karst (limestone) topographies in Latin America, showcasing massive, towering canyon entrances, deep dolines, and a vast network of thousands of subterranean caves (like Lapa do Angélica, São Bernardo, and Terra Ronca I and II). This complex karst relief creates a challenging micro-airspace. The sharp temperature and humidity differentials near the cave openings trigger severe aerodynamic hazards, including sudden, powerful thermal updrafts and intense localized downdrafts. Operating a drone below the canyon margins introduces immense failure risks: the thick limestone walls cause severe satellite signal shading and multipath GPS reflection errors, making any telemetry loss fatal as automated return loops will drive the aircraft directly into vertical cliff faces or trap it within deep, inaccessible rocky ravines.