⚠️ IMPORTANT NOTICE: Drone Operations Prohibited in Itatiaia National Park

🛑 Authorization Status: CRITICAL PERMIT REQUIRED (RECREATIONAL FLIGHTS 100% BANNED)

• Recreational/Amateur Flights: Completely forbidden. There is no instant or paid authorization for tourists anywhere in the upper or lower sectors.
• Commercial, Scientific, or Media Flights: Allowed ONLY under strict, advance analysis. You must hold a formal environmental license issued by ICMBio and a cleared flight plan from DECEA.

Operating unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs/drones) inside this conservation unit without prior federal clearance is illegal due to strict environmental protection laws and severe high-altitude aviation hazards.

🗺️ Geographic Map Boundaries (Where it is prohibited)

The flight ban covers the entire official polygon of 28,084 hectares (280.8 km²) of the National Park, located in the Mantiqueira Mountains on the border of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais.

• North Boundary: Extends into the high-altitude plateaus of Itamonte and Alagoa (MG).
• South Boundary: Limits with the urban and rural borders of Itatiaia and Resende (RJ), close to the Presidente Dutra highway (BR-116).
• East/West Limits: Encompasses the mountainous ridges stretching towards Bocaina and Passa Quatro.
• Critical No-Fly Zones: Absolute enforcement at the Pico das Agulhas Negras (2,791m), Maciço das Prateleiras, Abrigo Rebouças (Upper Sector), and the Véu de Noiva Waterfall and Lago Azul (Lower Sector).

📜 Key Regulations & Specific Legal Articles

• ICMBio Normative Instruction No. 61/2020: This federal ordinance dictates that any recreational operation of unmanned aircraft inside National Parks is completely forbidden without a previously issued environmental permit.
• Federal Law No. 9,605/1998 (Environmental Crimes Law - Art. 29 & 40): Protects the highly sensitive mountain ecosystems. The high-pitched noise of drone rotors causes severe stress to endangered endemic species of the Atlantic Forest high-altitude grasslands, including the Itatiaia Thryoleucos / Formigueiro-de-topete (Drymophila rubra) and rare high-altitude amphibians.
• DECEA ICA 100-40 & ANAC RBAC-94: The upper plateau experiences extreme micro-climates, sudden dense fog (viração), and violent, unpredictable wind shear near the rocky spires. Drones face extreme risks of immediate battery voltage drops due to freezing temperatures, motor overload, and signal loss, which cause aircraft to crash into inaccessible vertical cliffs.

⚖️ Penalties for Violations

Anyone caught operating drones inside the park boundaries without authorization will face strict immediate legal action:

1. Immediate Equipment Seizure: Confiscation of the drone, remote controller, and all storage media by ICMBio Federal Rangers.
2. Administrative Financial Sanctions: Fines starting at R$ 5,000.00 per infraction under Federal Decree 6,514/08.
3. Criminal Penalties: Registration of a federal environmental crime report for damaging a federal conservation unit and endangering protected alpine species.

🎥 Official Media & Research Licensing (How to request)

For institutional, scientific, or licensed commercial cinematography:

• Permits must be requested at least 45 business days in advance through the ICMBio SISBIO System.
• Pilots must obtain specific airspace clearance via the DECEA SARPAS system, matching the precise coordinates of the intended sector.

Thank you for respecting the mountain wildlife, protecting fragile high-altitude ecosystems, and helping preserve the natural integrity of Itatiaia.