Paraná
Photographers in Foz do Iguaçu
Foz do Iguaçu is a city in the far west of Paraná, on the border with Argentina and Paraguay, that exists for the photographer because of one place: the Iguaçu Falls inside the Parque Nacional do Iguaçu. The park is federal, managed by the Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBio), and its visitor area, the Polo Cataratas, is run by a concessionaire that sells the tickets, the internal buses and the special experiences. A session at the falls is planned around both.
The rules for cameras are clearer here than in most parks. ICMBio's image guidance for Iguaçu, based on Instrução Normativa ICMBio 12/2025, says photography in areas and hours open to visitors needs no authorisation, as long as it does not change the visitor routine. A session that wants a closed area, a time outside visiting hours or a blocked walkway needs ICMBio's Special Authorisation. Drones are a different matter entirely: visitors may not fly them in the park even with an ANAC registration.
The clock is the real constraint. Entry runs from 9:00 on weekdays and 8:30 at weekends, the last entry slot is 16:00, and everyone leaves by 17:30, while the sun sets in Foz between about 17:55 in June and 19:30 in January. A regular ticket never sees sunset at the falls. The concessionaire sells a separate sunrise experience, Amanhecer nas Cataratas, with access at 5:30 from Wednesday to Saturday, and a sunset one; those are the only first and last light on the walkways.
The Argentine side, the Parque Nacional Iguazú across the river, is a separate park with its own tickets, hours and rules and a border crossing in between, and it is not covered by Brazilian authorisations. Most visitors give each side a day. Clients here are couples and families on a two- or three-night stop, often between Rio, São Paulo and Buenos Aires, plus proposals timed to the falls.
