Paragliding around Oludeniz

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It’s the mountains rising just off the coast that make for great paragliding conditions in Oludeniz. The thermals are fairly consistent and the view over the lagoon and out to sea is ordered but enticing and it’s a smooth, cool flight down to the beach, checking out the view and the talent on the way. This is probably also a good place to have your first paragliding experience, there are quite a few companies that do tandem flights here and the good weather and views will more than likely be with you forever and leave you wanting more. Practically the mountain take off point is one of the highest commercial sites in the world, about 2000 metres, which means a good amount of air time. For experienced pilots the Oludeniz Air Games Festival is held in October where you can see all kinds of crazy airborne antics, including skydiving, ballooning, lots of group paraglide and all kinds of planes. Physically, Oludeniz is a nice place to visit, the mountain take off point, Mount Babadag (means Father Mountain) is heritage listed because of its wildlife and cedar forests. It’s part of Turkey’s ‘turquoise coast’, meaning that the water is bright blue, the sand clean and the weather sunny, so non flying partners will be easily convinced by a carefully selected guide book photo or two. There is decent diving and snorkelling and I also went sea kayaking and kayaking at nearby Saklikent Gorge. For the more culturally inclined there are some nice historic towns and ruins to wander around. Go in summer.

5 / 5 Review by member Kirk Browne