Paragliding in South Africa is something which often goes under the radar and is something which every paragliding enthusiast must try. Make that every outdoors enthusiast who visits South Africa, it really is that good!
Locations include wide, sandy beaches with rich blue water. Rugged mountains, wilderness and excellent opportunities for ridge soaring.
In this guide we’ve listed the best places to paraglide in South Africa. Enjoy!
Best Tandem Paragliding in South Africa
A great place to try tandem paragliding is near the iconic Table Mountain in Cape Town. You’ve probably dreamt of climbing this mountain, now you can get up close through paragliding too.
The two best launch sites are Signal Hill and Lions Head, these are the two smaller peaks adjacent to Table Mountain. Passengers can enjoy close up views of Table Mountain, Clifton Beach, and fly over Cape Town city. Flying over a city is a rare thing to be able to do, in most countries this would be illegal. Enjoy the natural beauty of the peaks and mountains, the beaches, the expansive ocean and enjoy viewing the human civilisation of a city from a much different angle.
This is a great activity for everyone from backpackers to retirees or families, with as children as young as five able to partake in this activity.
The best place outside of the cities to try tandem paragliding in South Africa are in the Wilderness and Sedgefield coastal regions. These are located 20-30km east of George and 450km east of Cape Town. Enjoy the feeling of launching off a large sand dune or a ridge and take in wide, sandy beaches, blue sea and crashing waves.
Learn more about tandem paragliding in Wilderness or Sedgefield
Paragliding License & Membership Requirements in South Africa
If you’re going tandem paragliding, perhaps with a tourism operator while on holiday, you won’t need any licenses or memberships.
However to legally paraglide solo and without the supervision of an instructor, it is a requirement for pilots to obtain a SAHPA Basic License. This entitles you to paraglide by yourself at any basic paragliding site in South Africa. It is the equivalent of an IPPI 4 rating, so it’s also recognised internationally.
It’s recommended that pilots allow for up to 2 weeks to achieve the SAHPA Basic License. Minimum requirements required before applying for the license are:
- A valid student license
- At least four hours of flying time, which includes a variety of flight and conditions such as:
- At least 35 logged flights (each flight must have a minimum of 60 seconds in duration)
- 1 soaring flight of at least 20 minutes
- 20 flights with a height difference of over 100 metres
- 2 flights in light thermal conditions of at least 10 minutes
- Flights must have been from at least 2 different mountain locations
To pass the license test, the student must pass the practical flight test achieve above 85% in the open book exam.
If you’re visiting South Africa from another country and wish to paraglide solo, foreign pilots can join as a country member (only R100 per year).
A number of popular launch sites also require Skywings membership. Skywings has built healthy relationships with the landowners of these launch sites. They help to maintain these sites and make them accessible for the enjoyment of the paragliding community. Skywings also has mentorship programs for learner pilots as well as competitions for those with more experience.
Locations for Experienced Paraglider Pilots
Wilderness
There are four great launch sites here. These are excellent for those who enjoy great white beaches with rolling waves and sunny skies. These areas offer some consistently good conditions and most of the time can be flown by pilots of all abilities. All four of these sites require Skywings membership.
Near-Beach Launch – Map of Africa
This is a great paragliding site for beginners. Pilots start on a grassy hill with a gentle slope and fly approximately 40 meters to the landing zone on the beach. The difference in altitude is about 30 meters.
Pilots should be careful when paragliding in strong winds to ensure they’re not blown over the back of the launch area. In the holiday season, pilots should also avoid landing among people on the beach.
Good conditions can be found here all year around, however the most consistently good conditions can be found in summer. Wind direction is south/south/east or east, ranging from 15 to 28km/h.
Serpentine
This is another site more suited towards beginners and is mostly used by those trying to improve their skills and flying time for license sign off. The launch area is situated in a grassy but slightly narrow field and pilots must be members of Skywings.
Pilots should avoid landing too far to the west, the hazards here include power lines and farm animals. The best time to paraglide here is in spring and summer and the wind direction varies from south east to south to south west.
Kleinkrantz
This is a perfect place for beginners or those who don’t paraglide regularly. Pilots launch from low dunes and fly over the beach and above the ocean. Pilots then fly above Paradise Ridge where whales, dolphins and sharks can be spotted. For paragliding to continue being allowed at this site it’s important that pilots are careful when walking on sand dunes to avoid causing erosion and other damage, as well as keeping a distance from birds.
Conditions are usually suitable for paragliding all year round. The wind direction is south-south/west ranging from 15-20km/h.
Wilderness Beach Hotel
This is a stunning place to paraglide – everyone should try it at least once! Pilots take off from a grassy area next to the iconic Wilderness Beach Hotel. This is a great ridge soaring site, where pilots launch over the beach and the water. Pilots must be careful to only launch from the allocated open grassy area and avoid contact with the dunes and vegetation.
Conditions are usually suitable for paragliding all year round. The wind direction is south-south/west ranging from 15-30km/h.
Sedgefield
Sedgefield has a beautiful wide-open beach which on a sunny day makes for a stunning paragliding experience. It’s suitable for all ages, with many beginners being trained there, while experienced pilots will find great thermic conditions and enjoy flying out from cliff launch across the blue seas.
There are multiple launch sites in the area. Gerickes Sedgefield launch site is a private site which can be easily used by paying a small fee to the owner who lives on site (failure to pay will result in a life ban). You must also be a Skywings member to fly here.
This gives you access to a high cliff launch site at a well maintained nature reserve. Pilots can take off and enjoy amazing beach and ocean views.
The altitude is approximately 120 meters and the wind direction is east/south-east ranging from 15-25km/h. Good conditions can be found here all year round.
Sedgefield’s other launch area is Cloud 9 (sounds more like a nightclub doesn’t it?). It’s an excellent lookout which offers great thermal conditions for pilots of all abilities. However it’s worth monitoring the wind speed and looking out for any sudden increases.
To paraglide at this site, there are a few rules to take note of:
- Pilots must pay at the Shell garage situated in Sedgefield.
- Maximum height is 1400m above sea level
- Avoid flying past the pine trees situated 1.5km to the west – residents have complained about low flying paragliders.
