Explosion of Trail Enthusiasts at Pico Paraná Transforms Tourism and Creates New Rules for Safe Camping and Exploration

Written by Caio Aviz

Published on 06/09/2025 at 17:46

Fiscal do parque barra trilheiro na subida do Pico Paraná para reforçar novas regras de cadastro e preservação ambiental.

Be the first to react!

Although Pico Paraná Attracts Thousands of Visitors, New Rules Have Been Established to Organize Visitation and Preserve the Environment in a Responsible Way.

More than half a million visitors in three years accelerated changes and, therefore, forced authorities to create an emergency plan to preserve trails and springs.

An unprecedented increase in visitation of natural areas in Paraná led to the adoption of unprecedented measures and, consequently, transformed the way mountain tourism is practiced.

Between 2021 and 2023, the conservation units in the state received 545 thousand visitors, compared to 192 thousand three years earlier, according to official data from the Water and Land Institute (IAT). Thus, the growth of 184% made it clear that urgent changes were needed.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Emergency Plan Creates Unprecedented Rules

To organize park use, the IAT, with support from the Coastal Biodiversity Program of Paraná (BLP), launched the Emergency Public Use Plan (PUPe) and, thus, established unprecedented visitation rules.

According to biologist Marina Rampim, head of the Conservation Unit, the plan does not aim to prevent access. On the contrary, it ensures that future generations also enjoy the experience with quality and safety.

The PUPe, implemented in 2025, represents the first detailed regulation applied in a state conservation unit in Paraná.

What Changes for Hikers and Campers

The new measures directly change the routine of visitors and, consequently, impact mountaineers:

Mandatory online registration and signing of a terms of risk acknowledgment, ensuring greater control.
Camping reservation only in authorized clearings, which prevents overcrowding.
Temporary closure of degraded areas, allowing for environmental recovery.
Prohibition of campfires and noise in sensitive areas, ensuring tranquility.
Standardization of signage on trails, facilitating safe movement.
Mandatory use of waste collection kits for overnight stays, reducing impacts.
Visible identification on tents, facilitating environmental monitoring.

These rules reduce impacts, control flows, and furthermore, foster better coexistence among visitors.

Investments and Environmental Governance

The BLP, the source of funding for the PUPe, was born as environmental compensation for the Petrobras oil spill in 2001. Since then, the program has directed R$ 110 million in investments over ten years to the Atlantic Forest.

The management is coordinated by FUNBIO (Brazilian Fund for Biodiversity) and, in addition, involves participation from SPVS, UFPR and ICMBio, supervised by the Federal Public Ministry and the Public Ministry of Paraná.

This governance model ensures transparency, enhances credibility, and consequently strengthens integration among institutions.

Petrobras and Ibama Set Date for “Final Test” That Could Unlock Oil in Amapá

Monitoring and Environmental Education

To monitor the implementation of the measures, the park established an advisory council and a volunteer program focused on trail monitoring, increasing constant field presence.

The Paranaense Mountaineering Federation (FEPAM), founded in 2002 and affiliated to the Brazilian Confederation of Mountaineering and Climbing, plays a central role in this process.

The organization promotes educational actions, training, and encouragement of good practices. Thus, visitors’ environmental awareness grows, and consequently, impacts tend to decrease.

A New Visitation Experience

The rules transform the experience of those visiting Pico Paraná. Thus, the online registration organizes the entry of visitors, while camping reservations reduce overcrowding.

At the same time, the prohibition of campfires decreases fire hazards and, furthermore, protects the soil. Meanwhile, silence in sensitive areas benefits wildlife and enhances the experience for those seeking direct contact with nature.

Therefore, the set of rules ensures safety, quality, and above all, environmental preservation.

The Challenge of the Future

While the PUPe acts as an immediate response, experts like Marina Rampim highlight that the plan also marks the first step toward a model of more efficient public management in the long term.

The challenge, however, lies in balancing the growth of mountain tourism with environmental preservation, ensuring that Pico Paraná maintains its natural relevance in Brazil.

With unprecedented rules and enhanced monitoring, the park seeks to establish itself as an example of conservation integrated with responsible mountaineering and, thus, serve as a model for other natural areas in the country.

And you, who often seek adventures in the mountains, do you believe that these measures will be sufficient to preserve Pico Paraná while ensuring the best experience for hikers?

Explosion of Trail Enthusiasts at Pico Paraná Transforms Tourism and Creates New Rules for Safe Camping and Exploration

Although Pico Paraná Attracts Thousands of Visitors, New Rules Have Been Established to Organize Visitation and Preserve the Environment in a Responsible Way.

Emergency Plan Creates Unprecedented Rules

What Changes for Hikers and Campers

Investments and Environmental Governance

Monitoring and Environmental Education

A New Visitation Experience

The Challenge of the Future

The Soviet Union spent 22 years drilling into the Earth’s crust and reached a depth of 12,262 meters — they found water where it was thought impossible, hydrogen bubbling from the rock, granite that is 2.7 billion years old, and temperatures of 180 degrees that melted the drill bits.

Gaddafi built the world’s largest artificial river under the Sahara — it’s 4,000 km of giant pipes that pump 40,000-year-old fossil water to entire cities in Libya.

Discovery in Africa scares even scientists: a study published on April 23 reveals that the crust in Turkana has become so thin that it could pave the way for the continent’s division and the emergence of an ocean in the future, in a gigantic geological transformation.

A German architect built a cylindrical house in 1994 that rotates to follow the sun throughout the day, generates 5 times more energy than it consumes, and was the world’s first energy-positive house.

A company that drilled for oil has drilled 4.8 kilometers of rock in Utah and found a never-ending heat of 290 degrees — now it is building the world’s first next-generation commercial geothermal power plant, with 100 MW connected to the grid in June 2026.

Brazil spent R$ 1.9 billion on a giant bridge to Paraguay, and it is already finished, but no one can use it properly because the access points are not ready, and traffic remains blocked months later.

The reactors of the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford produce 600 megawatts and could power an entire city.

As if a faucet had been opened in the ocean, warm water begins to reach Antarctica, breaks through the natural protection of the ice shelves, and intrigues scientists about the upcoming impacts on the global climate.

Brazil enters the era of engineered wood buildings alongside Canada, Sweden, Austria, and Norway, betting on a technology that promises faster construction, fewer emissions, and fire resistance that challenges concrete and steel.

War in Iran causes China to sell solar panels like never before, pushing 68 gigawatts to the world in just one month, while Middle Eastern oil becomes a global headache for suppliers desperate for alternatives.

Explosion of Trail Enthusiasts at Pico Paraná Transforms Tourism and Creates New Rules for Safe Camping and Exploration

Although Pico Paraná Attracts Thousands of Visitors, New Rules Have Been Established to Organize Visitation and Preserve the Environment in a Responsible Way.

Emergency Plan Creates Unprecedented Rules

What Changes for Hikers and Campers

Investments and Environmental Governance

Monitoring and Environmental Education

A New Visitation Experience

The Challenge of the Future

The Soviet Union spent 22 years drilling into the Earth’s crust and reached a depth of 12,262 meters — they found water where it was thought impossible, hydrogen bubbling from the rock, granite that is 2.7 billion years old, and temperatures of 180 degrees that melted the drill bits.

Gaddafi built the world’s largest artificial river under the Sahara — it’s 4,000 km of giant pipes that pump 40,000-year-old fossil water to entire cities in Libya.

Discovery in Africa scares even scientists: a study published on April 23 reveals that the crust in Turkana has become so thin that it could pave the way for the continent’s division and the emergence of an ocean in the future, in a gigantic geological transformation.

A German architect built a cylindrical house in 1994 that rotates to follow the sun throughout the day, generates 5 times more energy than it consumes, and was the world’s first energy-positive house.

A company that drilled for oil has drilled 4.8 kilometers of rock in Utah and found a never-ending heat of 290 degrees — now it is building the world’s first next-generation commercial geothermal power plant, with 100 MW connected to the grid in June 2026.

Brazil spent R$ 1.9 billion on a giant bridge to Paraguay, and it is already finished, but no one can use it properly because the access points are not ready, and traffic remains blocked months later.

A cyclone arrives in Brazil with gusts of up to 60 km/h, dropping temperatures, intensifying the thermal sensation, and advancing with a cold air mass; high pressure brings even colder dawns until May.

Farm road: Is it your neighbor’s, the municipality’s, or yours? Understand when the gate can close, when passage becomes a right, and why a simple padlock can lead to a heavy fine.

Residents of Santa Catarina are building bunkers in the middle of the forest with food stock, solar energy, and a structure to survive isolated for more than a year without depending on anyone.

At seventy-three years old, Lourdes Del Guingaro fulfills a childhood dream, getting into medicine after having already studied geography and architecture, and shows that it’s never too late to start over, with family support and the goal of graduating.

An American man went viral explaining why he left New York to live in Florianópolis, and his phrase about a R$20 churrasquinho being worth more than a US$200 restaurant in Manhattan captivated the internet.

The reactors of the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford produce 600 megawatts and could power an entire city.

As if a faucet had been opened in the ocean, warm water begins to reach Antarctica, breaks through the natural protection of the ice shelves, and intrigues scientists about the upcoming impacts on the global climate.

Brazil enters the era of engineered wood buildings alongside Canada, Sweden, Austria, and Norway, betting on a technology that promises faster construction, fewer emissions, and fire resistance that challenges concrete and steel.

War in Iran causes China to sell solar panels like never before, pushing 68 gigawatts to the world in just one month, while Middle Eastern oil becomes a global headache for suppliers desperate for alternatives.