By Ramiro Del Rio

Drones and Photos in Guna Yala: What's Allowed

Guna Yala is not a nature reserve or a tourist zone of Panama: it is an autonomous comarca, with its own government, its own local authorities and its own rules. That includes what may be filmed, where, and with whose permission.

This is not paperwork trivia. It is the difference between a trip the community welcomes and one that turns into a problem at the dock.

The rule that governs everything

You ask first. It applies to photographing a person, to entering a house, to flying a drone and to filming in a community.

It sounds obvious, and yet it is the rule most often broken, almost always without bad intent: the visitor sees a nice scene and shoots. For the person who lives there, that is a stranger pointing a camera at them in their own street.

A single “may I?” completely changes how the community treats you for the rest of the day. And very often the answer is yes.

Drones: permission, and sometimes a fee

Flying a drone in the comarca is not a free-for-all. Each community decides, through its local authorities —the sáhila and the congress— whether it is allowed and on what terms. There are islands where it is no problem and islands where it is simply no.

What is worth knowing before you pack it:

• Ask on arrival, not once it is already in the air. The guide can check with the community of that island; it is part of the job and he does it without drama.
• There may be a fee for filming, especially if the video has a commercial purpose. It is not a shakedown: it is the comarca charging for the use of its territory, the same way it charges an entrance fee.
• Over inhabited communities the answer is usually no. Flying over houses and over people is what bothers people most and what gets refused most.
• Over uninhabited cays there tends to be far more flexibility, but you still have to ask.

And a practical point: on the islands there is nowhere to charge batteries except during the hours the generator runs. If you are coming to film, come fully charged.

Photographing people

In the communities —Corbiski, El Porvenir, Narganá, Nalunega and the other inhabited islands— life happens in plain sight. That does not turn it into scenery.

Guna women in their traditional dress are, by a wide margin, what visitors photograph most. Many are happy to pose and some ask for a tip for doing so, usually one dollar. It is a reasonable, transparent exchange: they are giving you something.

What does not work is the telephoto from a distance so as “not to bother anyone”. It bothers people just the same and it removes the chance to ask.

What else the comarca asks

Do not lift starfish out of the water. Out of the water they suffocate in under a minute, and the photo holding one is the reason there are none left in other parts of the Caribbean. You photograph them with your hand underneath, in the water. It comes out just as well.

Do not stand on live coral. As well as breaking it —it takes decades to grow back— it cuts.

Do not leave rubbish. There is no collection on the islands: everything that comes in leaves in the same boat.

Do not take shells, sand or coral. It may look harmless multiplied by one person; it is not, multiplied by thousands a year.

Respect the fresh water. It arrives in drums from the mainland and it is the scarcest resource on the island.

Why the comarca is strict

Guna Yala won its autonomy in 1925 after a revolution, and has defended it ever since. Tourism enters on the comarca’s terms, not the other way round: that is why there is an entrance fee, why there are rules about images, and why local authorities can close access to an island if they see fit.

Understanding that saves misunderstandings. This is not a destination that negotiates with the visitor; it is a territory that receives them.

If the culture behind all of this interests you, we tell it in the Guna people and their molas.

Before you come with gear

If you are coming to film seriously —a project, a wedding, commercial content— say so when you book and not at the dock. Permissions with the community are arranged in advance, they may carry a cost and they are not always granted. Giving notice is the difference between filming and not filming.

For a normal trip with a phone and a handheld camera you need nothing special: just ask before you point at a person.

Frequently asked questions

Can you fly drones in San Blas? It depends on the island and its community. It is not a free-for-all: you have to ask the local authorities, and over inhabited communities it is usually refused.

Do they charge for flying a drone? There may be a fee, above all for commercial purposes. The community sets it, not the tour operator.

Can I photograph Guna women? By asking first. Many agree and some ask for a tip, usually one dollar.

Can I touch the starfish? You can look at them and photograph them in the water, with your hand underneath. They are not lifted out: they die in under a minute out of the water.

Can I take a shell home as a souvenir? You are asked not to. Shells, sand and coral stay where they are.

Do I need a permit to enter the comarca? There is no procedure beforehand: you pay the entrance fee at the checkpoint, in cash. We explain it in the Guna Yala entrance fee.