Paragliding in Israel
Only in Israel can you leap off the same mountain on which King Saul fell onto his own sword. Or retrace the route Jesus took when he leaped off an abyss to escape a lynch mob. See Israel from another perspective.
Paragliding through Israel's valleys by Flickr user piedrastudio
Paragliding is becoming one of Israel’s most popular extreme sports and its hard not so see why. With such amazing landscapes below both geographically and historically, seeing the country from a new perspective whilst enduring the thrills of trying something so exciting, makes paragliding an incredible experience.
Its going on dusk here on the cliffs of Mevo Hama on the southern Golan Heights. The setting sun is a deep yellow and it’s starting to silhouette the hills across Lake Kinneret to the west. More than 30 paragliders are already in the sky hovering over the 400-meter plateau. One after another, they yank their chutes by the lines like they’re pulling up a kite, turn around and literally push themselves off the edge of the cliff for half an hour of soaring before the sun sets completely. Syria and the outskirts of Damascus on the eastern horizon, the fading white Gilad mountains of Jordan to the south and the shadowy, craggy slopes of Galilee to the west; it’s a stunning view that only a privileged few get to see.
“Everyone starts paragliding for a different reason and enjoys it for different reasons,” says Amir Malik, who picked up the sport with his wife some six years ago. “For some it’s the quest for the altitude, for some the challenge of finding thermals. For some it’s the aerobatics. Some do it for the silent flying along the ridges and some for the noisy flight with a motor on their backs. I personally joined the sport because it was my dream to fly. I really wanted to fly with a motor in the skies of Israel. That was my dream but with time, after my Level 1 course, I realized that free flight was the kind of flying for me. I even bought a motor and tried it, but I saw that it wasn’t for me.“I enjoy high flight, the higher the better. Flying just before dusk as the sun sets over Lake Kinneret is the ultimate flying experience for me. My most beautiful moments of my flights till today are the evening flights from Mevo Hama.”
Paragliding happens across Israel, and on clear days, the skies are dotted with gliders. The main areas for paragliding in Israel vary seasonally. In the summer, popular spots are along the Coastal Plain between Herzliya and Caesarea, in the Lower Galilee around Mount Tabor, and in the Golan Heights. In the winter, paragliders shift south and east, to Mount Gilboa in the Galilee, and to the Negev and Dead Sea.
For the experienced, Mount Tabor is the mecca, drawing enthusiasts from around the world. A virtual thermal machine, from here paragliders can lift off, soar over the monastery and head east. Sometimes the currents will take you toward Lake Kinneret, just over where the Jordan River picks up again. Or if the winds are right you can continue to the eastern shores of the lake.
No matter where you fly you pass over ancient sites. The winter take off site at Mount Gilboa is called “Saul’s shoulder.” It was here that King Saul fell on his sword and died instead of being taken captive by the Philistines. At the Arsuf bluffs, paragliders get a bird’s eye view of the Crusader castle of Appolonia (and the nudist beach just to the north).
Paragliding in Israel
- Nesher (www.flynesher.co.il) from NIS 300 for about a 20-minute flight over the coastal bluffs and NIS 450 for a longer flight from the mountains.
- Agur (www.flyagur.co.il), the Israel hang gliding and paragliding club, established 1977, and based at Sea Palace Beach, Bat Yam offers flights from NIS 350 for half hour coastal flight and NIS 450 for mountain flying. 054-245-4346
- Shamayim Paragliders 052-222-3221, (09) 954-9788
- Dvir Paragliding (www.dvirparagliding.co.il) 050-833-3100, (09) 899-0277
- Dekel (www.dekel5.co.il) (03) 506-0063
- Sitvanit (www.sitvanit.com) – The Sitvanit Paragliding Club, established 1994. Shimon “Shimi” Hanegbi, (03) 518-9618, 050-559-0894
- Udi Doron (www.glide.co.il) 052-803-3824
- Seven Winds (www.7winds.co.il ), Roman Kirpak 054-464-3969
Quote source: Jpost
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