Adventure Mode: ON
From vol-biv in the Dolomites to exploring the highlands of Kenya, we asked 12 local gurus to share the secrets to their favourite spots
8 December, 2025, by Tarquin Cooper and Ed EwingWhether it’s a week in the winter sun or a month exploring the highlands of northern Kenya, paragliding offers adventures like no other. We asked 12 local guides and gurus to share some of their favourite adventures from their own backyard.
Combo flying Le Petit Combin
The Petit Combin is a beautiful 3,672m peak standing between the Val de Bagnes (Verbier’s valley) and the valley leading up to the Grand Saint-Bernard Pass in Switzerland. Last year, I went there twice, two different adventures, both unforgettable. By Tim Rochas
Ski-and-fly off-season Annecy
Late autumn and early spring might not sound like the ideal time to visit Annecy, France but actually they’re perfect months to explore a less crowded version of this paragliding mecca. When there’s a thin covering of snow on the grassy slopes it’s a pain to hike but not enough to carve turns without damaging your skis. The solution? A flying combo for pilots and skiers of most levels. By Joanna Di Grigoli
Flying vol-biv from Feltre
From Feltre you can follow classic lines north to Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park. With my groups, if we’re feeling bold we might start in Feltre – or even further west in Levico Terme – and go east to Slovenia. This is something you can do in a couple of days with nice spots on the way to top-land. With Kinga Masztalerz
Exploring mountain culture in the Cauca Valley
Most XC pilots know about Roldanillo in Colombia, but Jericó and Fredonia is an area further north, about 45km southwest of Medellin. The conditions are different – you’re not flying flatlands but mountains, so you have to deal with all that implies. With Seb Ospina
Free-flight safari in Kenya
Chris Garcia has been taking paragliding trips to Kenya with his company Convergence Paragliding for several years, but last January he really turned up the dial when they headed to the northern part of the country, near Mt Kenya and the border with Ethiopia. “We had a helicopter up there to take us to some really remote places, places no one had flown before, so we were able to access some of the deeper, more remote parts.”
Going over the back in Bir
Bir remains one of the most reliable and rewarding mountain flying sites I’ve flown. You get consistent thermals, clear trigger points, long ridge lines, easy access to altitude along with unprecedented views. What keeps Bir special is the range of flying it offers. A newer XC pilot can make safe 20-50km flights while the same day allows advanced pilots to push 100-200km. But this comes with a responsibility – Bir is big-air terrain. With Debu Choudhury
Towing in the flatlands of Finland
When talking about paragliding destinations, Finland is not often the first place to come up. The country lying in the far northeast corner of Europe is flat and lacks suitable foot launches for cross-country flights, so almost everything is based on towing. With Ilari Hauhia
Soaring the secret side of the Azores
In the Azores, we have nine different volcanic islands. So you have flying sites pretty much everywhere. And being in the middle of the Atlantic, we always have wind from some kind of direction. So there’s always a place you can fly. The weather is really challenging, but for the best flying you probably want to go to the main island of São Miguel. It’s bigger, there are more thermals and more sites – you can fly longer distances. With Tom de Dorlodot
Escaping the winter in Tenerife
The most special thing in Tenerife is Mount Teide (3,718m), the live volcano in the middle of the island (last eruption 1909). This gives us lots of options because we have the Atlantic Ocean all around and we have a great variety of flying sites, meaning windward flying, lee-side flying, soaring at ground level and thermal flying. Our highest take-offs are at 2,200m, so there’s a great variety.
A weekend vol-biv in Pemberton
Pemberton is the uncontested Canadian paragliding mecca, situated just 120km north of Vancouver. These impressive peaks form a portion of the Canadian Coastal Mountain range and are a perfect backdrop for serious cross-country flying. With James Elliott
Flying the mountains of Norway
From rugged coast to remote glaciated mountains Norway is built for adventure and if you really want to get off the beaten track, then this is your place. Jotunheimen is the mountain area which contains the highest peaks of Norway, including the highest mountain in Northern Europe, Galdhøpiggen (2,469m). The rugged landscape is characterised by wild mountains, glaciers, lakes and little to no human impact. With Erlend Ukvitne
Going XC in the wilds of Kyrgyzstan
With as many as 88 mountain ranges spread across the country and some peaks reaching more than 7,000m, Kyrgyzstan is a mostly unexplored paragliding playground with high potential. There are a lot of grassy slopes for take-off and landings, and good flying conditions with the possibility of 100km to 200km for good pilots in the main season. With Léonard Siclon
This article was first published in Cross Country Issue 262
