Your paragliding holiday questions answered
Send us an enquiry if you can't find what you need here or in any of our fact sheets.
Day 1 Kathmandu
We will pick you up at the airport and transfer you to the Hotel. The first evening we will visit and have a dinner together at the temple Boudanath stupa.
Day 2-4 Pokhara
This is the main paragliding site of Nepal and a tourist destination. Sarangkot mountain (1450m) is an easy and busy thermal spot with amazing views of the Annapurnas and Machapuchare. Takeoff and landings (next to a lake) are ready for all levels. We will adapt the flight plan depending on your skills, from easy smooth thermal flights to the most popular XC routes around.
Day 5-7 Sirkot
40km south of Pokhara, we will ride a jeep to the lodge on the top of the ridge. Sirkot offers soaring but also great xc flights. The lodge, managed by an X-Alps nepali pilot, has one of the best sunrise views ever!.
Day 8-10 Pokhara
Near of Pokhara we have alternative takeoffs to explore different ridges and flying possibilities.
Day 11-12 Bandipur
We will travel during the morning to a beautiful small village with an afternoon soaring flight. Bandipur is a beautiful and typical old village on top of a ridge. It is situated in between Pokhara and Kathmandu.
Day 13-14 Kathmandu
The capital of Nepal has a lot of temples and markets to offer. Before going back home it’s great to have a walk around the most famous areas like the Monkey temple, Durbar square or even the neighbourhoods of Patan and Bhaktapur.
The dates shown on the calendar are Arrival and Departure dates only.
The course starts the following morning. i.e. our calendar EP course dates 4-10 march. Arrive with us on Sunday 4th to settle in, the course starts early on Monday. The course finishes on Friday evening, your departure travel day being Saturday 10th.
Courses vary, such as the Zero to Hero ppg course, Please check dates carefully.
If you arrive outside those times we can help organise either a taxi or point you to a bus or car rental.
Spain courses:
The shuttle is at the airport at 1pm on your day of arrival. Please aim to land by 12:30 to be clear of the airport building by 1pm (Spanish time). On departure day (Saturday) it leaves the village at 11am and drops off at the airport for 1p.m. Flights leaving after 15:00 give plenty of time to check-in. If you can't coordinate your flights within these times, alternatively grab a taxi or hire car.
Turkey Course: No Free Shuttle
Airport transfers, typically everyone arrives at slightly different time in to Dalaman, there is a shuttle that runs fairly regularly to Oludeniz, or you can get a cheap 30-50 euro taxi, we might be able to organise a joint pick up (shared fare with others nearer the time)
A reasonable level of fitness is required. You will need to be able to walk up hills whilst carrying your glider. When learning to land your glider hard landings are a possibility, due to the extra engine weight and added speed.. The motors themselves are heavy so lifting and carrying is a large part of each day. Whilst learning to launch a paramotor you will be carrying between 20 - 30 kg on your shoulders so a good level of stamina is required. We only teach pilots up to a naked weight of 110 kilos
Trike flying still includes all the previously mentioned levels.
Complete beginners looking to qualify.
A paraglider may look vaguely like a parachute or commonly confused with a parasail or parasailing because most folk have been to the beach or what some daft operators on You tube.
Paragliding is now at a very exciting stage in its development, from being just a fun method of decent from hills, paragliding now offers the pilot the sensation of true free flight for hours upon hours. Using modern high strength materials a canopy only weighs about 7kg and packs neatly into a rucksack. This makes this "aeroplane in a bag" totally portable and can complement other sports such as skiing and mountaineering.
The paraglider wing is an inflatable structure. It consists of a row of tubes open at the front and closed at the back joined together side by side. The wing moving through the air keeps these tubes (or cells, to give their correct name) inflated. The air goes in the front but can't get out the back. These cells are cut into the same cross sectional shape as an aeroplane wing and it is this "aerofoil" section that provides the lift to our wings. The pilot is supported underneath the wing from a web of lines, each one with the strength to support the pilot alone. These lines are then attached to risers, a strap like device that is then itself attached to the pilots harness.
The harnesses we use for training are very simple but the ones used by the experienced pilots can look like a bucket seat taken from a racing car. These incredibly comfortable harnesses can come with airbag back protection systems to protect the pilot from unplanned hard landings, built in reserve parachute systems and all sorts of electronic instrumentation ranging from digital altimeters to global positioning systems. Cross-country flyers can look more like astronauts than paraglider pilots! The pilot holds a control handle on each side to steer the glider into turns. The control lines run to the rear of the canopy from these handles and by pulling smoothly down on one line at a time, one side of the wing slows down there-by turning the glider. With these controls you can perform anything from a gentle turn, to a screaming spiral dive, slow the wing down for landing and damp out turbulent air.
Add an engine to your back and you have paramotoring, a simple foot launched aircraft whihc again packs into most cars and without needing any big runway or storage hangar you can fly; outside of airspace and within the safety of the weather, anytime and anywhere you like.
Flying clothes:
January: mild temperatures in the valleys during the day (22 degrees), cold in the nights (7 degrees).
Trekking pants
Down jacket
Warm leggings or flying suit in case of no pod harness.
Medium warm gloves
Shoes: usually is dry land.
Electronics:
Smartphone with free sim card option (buying a nepali prepaid sim card is very cheap and efficient for our trip).
GPS or compass for flying.
Recommended:
GPS tracker (garmin inreach, spot…).
Water purification tablets or light water filter (https://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/equipment-c3/water-treatment-c24/water-filters-c165/befree-water-filtration-system-0-6l-p7645). But it's almost always possible to find bottled water.
Earplugs (for quite nights).
Passport photos:
1 photo for the Nepal sim card.
1 photo for the flying permit
Paragliding Ep beginners courses or paramotoring make for a great family activity holiday. You can now qualify at age 14 but you can learn to fly earlier with an adult present depending on your weight and fitness.
We’d only encourage children to do what they felt they were happy to do so if they felt too nervous with high altitude then they could stop there. There are issues with weight, so in truth any student pilot under 35 kilos would probably struggle. Drop us a line if you are unsure
Itinerary:
Arrival: Saturday
Sunday morning 9.am briefing and course overview and discussion and kit check.
Sunday Pm orientation flight
Monday - manoeuvres - 2 flights
Tuesday - manoeuvres - 2 flights
Wednesday - manoeuvres - 2 flights
Thursday - manoeuvres a la Carte - 2 flights
Friday - free flight day or catch up depending on weather
Saturday leave
We’ve never cancelled a beginners or Cp course in paragliding or paramotoring, we have a full-time staff here super keen to go out and work and get you flying. When you give us a deposit we pledge to be here to teach you!
Any pilot who's already achieved a paragliding hill or tow rating to at least Ep beginners level.
Our head quarters are based at the 'Eagles Nest' in the village of Algodonales, Southern Spain. We use a variety of private and public hills & fields to teach our paragliding and paramotoring courses.
Fortunately our courses are very popular, they are regularly fully booked often months in advance. We like to run small groups so our clients get the best service we can offer which means last minute cancellations are quite inconvienient both for the client and ourselves, equally we want to try and be as accomodating as possible. If we can refill your place then we are happy to move your booking to another date but if we are unable to refill your place we sadly wont be able to refund your money. Life is full of unexpected events so we urge everyone to insure their holidays as soon as you make your booking, that way, should something unexpected arise no one needs to be inconvienienced.
Of course, yes, we consider it a crucial part of paragliding, good ground skills make a top pilot. So given the chance we’ll include a proper session for ground handling.
Yes we have some private sites that allow you to top land, not all are appropriate but ask an instructor if you’d like to practice.
A recently qualified EP student. Ep Student refers to a British pilot but any student paraglider pilot with 3-4 days flying under their belt, so a pilot with a minimum of three UK or European days flying achieved in the last 12- 18ths.
Paragliding Elementary Pilot Course
On the paragliding courses, you DO need to walk up and down a 350ft slope over the course of 2-3 days so a reasonable level of fitness is required, in the hotter months this can be more challenging so if in doubt ask us about our cooler months. Once you're happy at flying at those heights then we drive you up bigger hills to fly. If you're unsure, or have previous medical conditions, then maybe best ask your doctor before booking or contact us directly for advice
We do offer some bespoke 1-1 courses that can suit individuals with a lower level of fitness, allowing you to progress at your own speed with your own instructor, just enquire for dates General enquiry
Zero to Hero Paramotoring Courses
Our Zero to Hero courses are an intensive 10-day course, the first two to three days can mean making multiple walks up a 350 ft hill, not difficult but a necessity and in heat sometimes tough. Personal fitness varies so much from person to person, the kit isn't super heavy nor super light 15kg). We have seen men in their late 60's outshine most in their 40's. It's not normally a problem but worth bearing in mind. All pilots have a resposnibility to inform their respective instructors of any underlying health issues that they or their doctor feel might be aggravated by training. If in doubt ask us or better still get a health check by your Doctor, especially if you are over 60
EP. Beginners Paragliding 5/6 Students with 2 instructors on hand
Club pilot course - 5/6 Students with 2 instructors on hand
Paramotor Club pilot - 6 with 1-2 instructors on hand.
Zero to hero paramotoring courses - 6 with 1-2 instructors on hand.
Zero to hero paragliding courses - 1-1 tuition
Siv courses - 8 pilots to 2 instructors
Siv Turkey - 8-12 pilots to a course
Guided weeks - 7 pilots with 2 instructors coaching and full Gps tracking
There is a certain amount of theory to achieve during the week plus an easy multiple-choice exam for beginners, it's really very easy and we provide lectures during the week. You don’t need to know any rocket science to learn to fly a paraglider but there is a need to know and have a basic comprehension of how gliders fly and the rules of the road. Knowledge of the weather is part and parcel of making good safe flying decisions and getting the best out of your flying. Lectures will be given on all aspects of the exam and more.
Some basic background reading can be very useful, for good and easily comprehensible literature that would ease you into the sport try any of these titles;
BHPA Pilot Handbook by Mark Dale: a superb book, very readable and highly informative.
Touching Cloudbase by Ian Currer: A Bit of a paragliding bible guides you from the very basics to novice pilot level in a nice logical order.
Understanding the Sky - Dennis Pagen; a Brilliant book on the weather, really easy to absorb and understand, not too fiendishly technical.
All these books are available from us just email us
The Author, Ian Currer ran one of the largest paragliding schools in the Uk and a massive early online store. Pioneered lots of foreign flying trips and now works as an examiner and BHPA tech officer at the BHPA.
Over the last year, he has now Compiled a great learning resource online and added lectures and video tutorials from Elementary to Pilots. It not only does it cover your Ep- Cp it also offers post-Cp progression theory so you will be well placed for your pilot exam.
His books retail for £25, his E-learning lectures & video resources are available for just £50. You’ll need to register an account, and reference FlySpain as a school contact and you’ve got plenty of pre-course reading and ongoing content to keep you busy until you see us here.
Follow the link at Touching cloudbase
All are welcome, we will happily pick them up from the airport when you both arrive, our house is lovely and relaxed with terraces to sit and read and wind down. We can't guarantee a place in the bus to watch you fly, if we can we will of course, but pilots come first.
We have few en-suite rooms so it's first come first served.
There will be an accommodation supplement for partners and children (depending on age). The Non-flyer supplement is 250 euros per week.
Algodonales is a stunningly beautiful area. There are massive amounts to keep everyone busy while you are flying. Stacks of history, horse riding to kitesurfing and bike hire in the village. Picnics & canoeing on the lake, stunning restaurants, charming bars and beautiful white hillside villages of Andalucia, everything is out there to do and explore. Here are some general links to activities in and around the area. For more ideas have a look at our "what other activities can I do in Spain..."
We have a variety of houses available including our HQ, the 'Eagle's Nest'. Accommodation is based on twin rooms, although you can book a single person supplement to get a room to yourself. All houses have shared fully fitted kitchens, washing machines etc. and there is a supermarket in the village for supplies. Towels are also provided.
Yes it is, we size you up for the most appropriate equipment from day one. Including Radios, harness and reserve parachute
If you are on a paragliding course with us all our paragliding equipment will be provided from a safety helmet to glider and harness within the course price. We also use Radios on bigger hill flights for certain tasks like soaring and Big Ears manoeuvres.
FlySpain boasts some of the best school equipment out there to teach on, the equipment is checked regularly, and conforms to the latest safety standards. Its chosen to make your progression through the school as happy and easy as possible with the most confidence. The gliders you fly on in the later half of your course and when you leave the school tend to be a little different from the training gliders you first go out on.
Some students prefer to buy their own equipment from the outset & learn to fly using that. Others choose to buy new or used equipment halfway through the course so that by the end of the course they are au fait and comfortable with their new kit in the company and familiar surroundings of their instructors.
Our recommendation is to try and hold off buying equipment until you have completed two or three days of the course, by then you will be familiar with what is on the market and what you might like.
The choice is huge and depending on what your intentions, not all equipment is suitable. If climbing and paragliding is an ambition then you will want very specialist light weight equipment, like wise, if you commute with your business a lot and you need something more portable. It just allows you a chance to look around and see what gliders and harnesses are available, we have a good selection of demos paraglider wings and harnesses for you to try.
Regardless if you are on the inclusive glider-training package and have bought your kit new, there won’t be any pressure on you to select the first thing that’s put in front of you. There's lots of on instructors on hand to offer up advise about what equipment is most suitable for you. We offer a mix of new and second hand equipment see our shop for more details
