Paragliding in Ölüdeniz

“When I say run you run ok?”

I braced myself for the take off as my pilot counted down “3… 2… 1… Run!”

Before I knew it, my feet were off the ground, and I was looking at the incredible view before me.

If there’s one thing I love to do on my travels, it’s to include at least one crazy adrenaline pumping activity. Known as one of the best places in the world for paragliding, I couldn’t resist not doing a tandem flight before leaving Ölüdeniz.

Located in Southwest Turkey near Fethiye, Ölüdeniz is popular resort village amongst both locals and tourists. The sapphire blue waters at the pebble beach (wear flip-flops) make it quite a sight to behold.

There are a number of agencies offering paragliding, but we went with the very professional Focus Tours & Paragliding. The tour started at Ölüdeniz beach, where we were driven to the launch point at the top of nearby Mt. Babadağ (6550ft). The ride up was pretty bumpy, but thanks to one of our pilot who kept sharing stories of his flight adventures, we soon forgot about the winding road. Things moved like clockwork once we were up at the launching area, and before long, we were taking turns to glide off the cliff.

For those who might be unsure, don’t worry! The pilots are well trained and will cater the flight to your comfort level. Some of us had very gentle flights… while I of course went for EXTREME! This was my second time paragliding after a pretty amazing experience at Rio de Janeiro. But I must say that this was way more fun, and only at a fraction of the cost!

Just look at the breathtaking views.

Halfway through the flight, the pilot even gave me control of the glider while he helped with taking pictures. Then he took over and we went extreme. I remember spinning round and round as we sped quickly towards the ground, before a flip of some sort that caused me to see my feet against the sun instead of the ocean. The G-forces were pretty crazy and I just kept screaming with exhilaration. You know the kind that goes.. woohooooooooo…. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh… omyyyyyyygoooodddddddddddd. Before you get scared off, I must say that I asked for “EXTREME EXTREME” and mentioned that I’ve done paragliding before. :P

After the adrenaline pumping stuff, we were more or less ready for landing. I thought this was pretty cool cause we glided over people and buildings before landing on a short strip of sand. I had my doubts at first, but the pilot was really skilled and we landed without a hitch. The only problem was wanting to do it again!

Paragliding in Ölüdeniz is definitely recommended for anyone up for a little adventure.

Things to know

Wear covered shoes if you do not want to wear the spare pair from the company. Ewwww.
Cameras are generally not allowed for safety reasons. Apparently someone dropped their camera before and it almost injured someone tanning on the beach! All the pilots will carry a GoPro though, so don’t worry about not having this wonderful experience recorded in both photos and videos! It is definitely worth buying the footage and the price is usually negotiated with the pilot. We got ours for 80TL after some haggling.

Focus Tours & Paragliding

Cost: EUR 55
Duration: up to 40mins (depends on winds)
Contact:
Focus Tours Derya Camp
Ölüdeniz 48300-Fethiye / Muğla – TURKEY
focustourism@hotmail.com or +90 252 6170401

Where to stay in Ölüdeniz

We stayed at Four Seasons 7, a luxurious 4BR Villa (sleeps 8) with swimming pool, home entertainment system, and fully equipped kitchen. It’s not the cheapest, but for the price, it’s super value for money. Nothing beats staying in a villa with friends! There’s even a free shuttle service from the main resort in the town to your villa.

Cost: EUR 220/night. If you have 8 people, it’s only EUR 27.5/night each

p.s. If you are terribly afraid of heights, there are still tons of other activities from Safari Jeep Tours, Sunset Cruises, to simply chilling at the beach!

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