It’s nearly impossible to spend any time in Interlaken without seeing some form of air sport- in the background of nearly all of my photos, a paraglider or a hang-glider can be spotted enjoying the beautiful views.
I had recently gone skydiving while in New Zealand and frankly, I much preferred the parachuting part of the adventure to the actual free fall. With this in mind, I thought it would be fun for my friend to finally test that age-old adage; if all your friends jump off a cliff, would you jump too? The answer, apparently, is an enthusiastic “yes”!
We chose the “Big Blue-Summer” package with Paragliding Interlaken for our adventure. They are centrally located, but offer pick up locations for convenience. Once everyone was collected, we were paired with our tandem partners and loaded into a van. Fifteen minutes later, we found ourselves on a grassy hill ready to paraglide!
I was attached to my tandem partner, so the takeoff can be a sort of awkward three legged race for a moment until the wing catches the air and I was taken right off my feet! The harness has a hard flap that becomes a seat while flying so I was able to enjoy the view in comfort- and what views they were!
Interlaken from above was absolutely breathtaking- I saw the gorgeous blues of the Lake Thun and Lake Brienz that give Interlaken it’s name, the stunning snowcapped mountains in the background, and we actually traveled right past Harder Klum. We did spend a fair amount of time gliding through the air, so I did find myself making some small talk with my guide. As we started coming down, we had the option to continue a relatively peaceful flight or to try some stunts- depending entirely on your preference. I chose to do some stunts, so we did some turns and spins. It’s really not as scary as it looks and I had a ton of fun!
Upon landing, we received a flash drive with footage from our flight since we had paid extra for a photo and video package to memorialize our adventure. They came with cute little wind socks sewn from retired paraglider wings and I loved the sweet touch!
Although I highly recommend giving paragliding a try while visiting, if you’re interested in a similar view, but less of an adrenaline rush, you can check out our excursion to Harder Kulm.
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