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Kyrgyzstan or Nepal, Turkey, Bir Billing — which should I fly?
Not Kyrgyzstan in July if you can reach the Alps. Kyrgyzstan wins in September, and it wins outright on emptiness — no fences, no cable cars, no other gliders. Pokhara and Ölüdeniz win on infrastructure and price.
In detail
An honest comparison, including where we lose.
Ölüdeniz, Turkey. Cheaper, easier, a shuttle to launch every twenty minutes, and a tandem industry so large that the air above the launch is busy. Best in spring and autumn. If you want maximum flying per euro with zero logistics, go there.
Pokhara, Nepal. Reliable November-to-February conditions, world-class scenery, excellent value, and the best winter-season answer for a European pilot. Also crowded, and the flying window is short each day.
Bir Billing, India. The autumn XC classic, October to November, with a real community and strong infrastructure for the price. Very hard to beat in its months.
Kyrgyzstan. Loses on price-per-day, loses on convenience, loses badly in July because it is competing with the Alps in the same weeks. Wins on two things: a cloudbase over Suusamyr reported around 5,000 m, and terrain you can commit a whole week to without meeting a fence, a cable car, controlled airspace or another glider. And it wins in September, when the Alps are closing, Bir has not started and this place is at its best.
So: fly Turkey in April, the Alps in July, Kyrgyzstan in September, Bir in October, Nepal or Colombia in January. If you have already done four of those and want somewhere that still feels unmapped, that is the argument for here and it is the only one we will make.
Related
- When is the best time to paraglide in Kyrgyzstan?
- Does travel insurance cover paragliding?
- What rating and experience do I need for an XC trip here?
- How does retrieval actually work here?
- How far can you actually fly in Kyrgyzstan?
- Can I bring my own wing, and what about gear transport?
Tell us what you fly
Send your rating, hours, personal best and last SIV, and you get a specific answer — a route and a retrieval zone, not a brochure. A person reads it and answers within one working day.
Or just get the season report
One email at the end of each season with the flyable days we actually logged, and one more if the SIV course opens. Nothing else, ever.