Paragliding In Nepal

Explore Paragliding In Nepal: Detailed Guide [Destination, Costs, Season]

Paragliding is a relatively new adventure sport in Nepal and it can be a truly wonderful and fulfilling experience for the adventure seeker. Paragliding is a weather dependent sport and you must keep weather conditions like fog, rain, and wind in mind for flights. The best time for paragliding in Nepal is between November and February. The take-off location for the majority of flights is Sarankot, which stands at 1,592 meters above sea level.

A paragliding flight can give you a panoramic view of the sunrise or sunset in the Himalayas, depending upon the time and weather conditions, and the landing zone is near the famous Fewa Lake. Paragliding is an amazing adventure and no previous experience is required to experience these flights. Qualified paragliding trainers or pilot will provide instruction and training before your flight.

Pokhara is one of top five commercial tandem paragliding locations in the world. (Tandem means the flight where the pilot flies and you take on the passenger seat)

History Of Paragliding In Nepal

Nepal (especially Pokhara) is one of the best places for paragliding due to the optimum thermal pressure and the beautiful all round views. Pokhara pagragliding has been nominated as the fifth best location to paraglide in the world.

The first paragliding company established in Nepal is Sun Rise Paragliding, Nepal, a company based in Pokhara. Adam Hill, a British paragliding pilot helped to establish the organization which is today the Paragliding giant in Nepal.

Nepal has a similar climatic condition to Switzerland(the best place in the world to paraglide). Due to this paragliding has not been limited only in Pokhara and has been opened in various places.

The number of paragliding casualties is really less considering the number of people who take this adventure. The only casualty reported in Nepal was a trainee who was on a solo flight that died crashing with a tree in 2016 and a British guy in 2017.

A group of Nepali paragliders won the silver medal on cross country competition in 18th Asiad held in Jakarta of Indonesia in 2018. The team consisted of 5 team members: Bimal Adhikari, Bijay Gautam, Yukesh Gurung, Sushil Gurung, Bishal Thapa and chief coach Yogesh Bhattarai and assistant coach Sano Babu Sunuwar.

Is Paragliding Safe In Nepal?

Yes, paragliding is safe in Nepal. Only registered pilots are allowed to have tandem flights and it takes three years of solo flight experience and tests to be a registered pilot.

Paragliding In Nepal Cost

The price depends varies from one agent to another, the time of the year(on the season and off-season) and depends upon the type of flight. The different types of flights are as follows :

Standard Flight

The flight goes on for 20 – 30 minutes and costs around 7500 Rs (66 USD) for Nepali and for foreigners including Indians it is Rs 10,000 (88 USD)

Cross Country

The flight goes on for half an hour to an hour and costs around 11000 rs (97 USD) and costs around 15000 Nrs (132 USD) for foreigners including Indians.

Best Time To Fly

Normally there are three shifts of paragliding : 10:30 AM, 12 PM and 2 PM.

Best Seasons For Paragliding

Paragliding can be done in any season throughout the year unless it rains. The best season is October to December when the sky is clear and you can clearly see beautiful views everywhere.

Paragliding Places In Nepal

Before, only Pokhara used to be known as the go-to paragliding destination. But now Paragliding has found its audience Nepal-wide. Some of the other places that offer paragliding services are :

• Kathmandu

    There are two different places for paragliding in Kathmandu. One is from the Godavari and another from Shankharapur.

• Bandipur

    Bandipur is known for oranges and its beautiful sunrises/sunsets. You will be greeted with a beautiful sky and orange looking forests as you glide your way through.

• Sirkot

    Sirkot is mostly popular for solo gliders who would like to fly for a longer time. You can fly from Sirkot to Pokhara in 2.5 hours.

• Other

There are a lot of other sites from where you can paraglide in Nepal. Some of them are Surkhet, Dailekh, Mt. Monastery, Bhanjyang, Shiva Puri, Hetauda, Shreeban, Dhulikhel, Diki-Danga, Begnas Tal, Muktinath, Nuwakot, Tansen, Chitwan, Korchon, Galem, Bandipur, Andhi Khola-Sirkot, Sirubari, Dechuli, and Karkineta