Tandem Paragliding

The launch site sits on a slope above Lake Sevan, and the first thing you do there is wait. For wind from the right direction, at the right strength, for the moment the pilot says it works. Sometimes that takes ten minutes. Sometimes the pilot packs up again.

Then it happens quickly. The canopy is laid out, the lines are sorted, the harness is on, and the pilot behind you says: run. Three, four, five steps down the slope, and somewhere in between the ground stops mattering. The transition is less dramatic than most people expect — no jump, no jolt, just a point where your legs are treading air.

After that it is quiet. A paraglider has no engine; you hear wind in the lines and not much else. Below you lies the lake, still edged with ice in the bays in early summer, deep blue to the horizon in August. The slopes are bare and the colours shift every few weeks. If you bring a camera, tie it on; nobody ever finds what falls from up there.

A tandem flight typically lasts around twenty minutes. That sounds short and is usually enough, because time passes differently up there and your stomach has an opinion about turns. If you want calm instead of acrobatics, say so before launch. Up in the air it is no longer up for discussion.

Landing is on a flat meadow, either sitting or on your feet, depending on how the pilot brings it in. Both are normal. On touchdown you stay seated until the canopy is down on the ground behind you — a half-standing wing pulls once more, and that is where most ankles get twisted.

Flights are tandem only, with a licensed pilot. You steer nothing and need no skill — beyond running a few steps and stopping when told to.