Drone Rules for Rodovia Caminho do Mar
Drones are prohibited along the Estrada Velha de Santos (Caminhos do Mar / Serra do Mar State Park) for the general public. Under DECEA rules, professional mapping requires a strict 120-meter (400-foot) altitude ceiling and a 30-meter horizontal safety distance from people. Because this park area is run by a private co
Geographically, the Estrada Velha de Santos is a historic mountain pass cutting directly through the steep, mountainous escarpments of the Serra do Mar, connecting the high industrial planalto of São Bernardo do Campo to the coastal lowlands of Cubatão. The terrain is exceptionally challenging for aerial mapping, featuring drastic microclimatic shifts, sudden orographic fog banks that can completely eliminate visual line-of-sight within minutes, and powerful thermal updrafts traveling up the mountain face that threaten the stability of small multirotor aircraft. The physical infrastructure consists of a narrow, winding asphalt road flanked by sheer rock faces, historic stone monuments, and dense, unbroken Atlantic Forest canopy. Additionally, the route runs parallel to massive high-voltage power transmission lines, heavy metal pipeline infrastructure, and industrial valleys, creating severe risks of localized electromagnetic radio frequency interference (RFI) that can disrupt drone telemetry, while the precipitous mountain drops ensure that any mechanical failure or loss of control will result in a completely unrecoverable crash in the vertical forest abyss.