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Your first flight
You do not need any experience, any equipment or any licence. You need a day with the right air and about two hours.
A tandem flight means a certified pilot flies a two-seat wing and you sit in front. You take four or five steps at launch and then your feet stop touching anything. Nobody is going to hand you the controls unless you ask and the pilot agrees.
What the two hours look like
We pick you up from your accommodation, drive up to the launch, and then the part nobody puts in the brochure: we look at the sky. If the wind is wrong, we wait, move to another slope, or call it off and refund you. That is not caution theatre — it is the only reason this sport has the safety record it has. Once the air is right, you are clipped in, briefed in one minute, and airborne in the next.
What surprises most people is how quiet it is. There is no engine. Above Karakol you hear the river and, at the right time of day, the wind through a vulture's feathers when it joins you in the same thermal, which happens more often than you would think.
Which flight to choose
If you have never flown: the standard Karakol flight. If you have already done a ten-minute tourist hop in Turkey or Nepal and felt cheated: the high-altitude flight, or the long thermal flight when it opens. If you are only in Bishkek and are not travelling to the lake: Chon-Tash, and read the honest note about how short those flights are.
Karakol tandem flight
from $170 per passenger final price
The standard first flight. Drive up to the launch above the Karakol ski base, a short brief, then a thermic or glide flight over the spruce forest with the Terskey Ala-Too wall behind you and Issyk-Kul ahead.
| Duration | ~2 h total, 10–20 min airborne |
|---|---|
| Launch | Karakol ski base |
Included
- Certified tandem pilot
- Wing, harness, helmet, reserve
- Transfer from your Karakol accommodation and back
- Photos and video from a pilot-mounted camera
Not included
- Personal travel insurance
- Chairlift ticket where a lift is used
Who flies this one
- Anton Tomov — Tandem pilot · Check him yourself →
Limits and refunds
Passenger weight 40–100 kg. Not flown in rain, in strong or gusty wind, or in unstable air. Weather cancellations are refunded in full or rebooked.
High-altitude tandem, 3,040 m
from $299 per passenger final price
Chairlift to the upper station at 3,040 m and a long descent from alpine terrain. Twice the airtime of the standard flight and a genuinely different view — you launch above the treeline, not from a meadow.
| Duration | ~2 h total, 15–25 min airborne |
|---|---|
| Launch | Karakol, upper station 3,040 m |
Included
- Certified tandem pilot
- Full equipment
- Chairlift ticket
- Transfer from Karakol and back
- Photos and video
Not included
- Personal travel insurance
Who flies this one
- Anton Tomov — Tandem pilot · Check him yourself →
Limits and refunds
Passenger weight 40–95 kg. The lift and the launch are both weather- and wind-dependent; this flight is cancelled more often than the lower one. Cancellations are refunded in full.
Bishkek tandem flight with 4x4 transfer
from $170 per passenger final price
The day-trip option if you are only in Bishkek. A 4x4 takes you up to the Chon-Tash ridge above the Ata-Beyit memorial, 45 minutes from the city, and you fly out over the Chui valley.
| Duration | ~2 h total from Bishkek, 5–15 min airborne |
|---|---|
| Launch | Chon-Tash / Ata-Beyit ridge |
Included
- Certified tandem pilot
- Full equipment
- 4x4 transfer from central Bishkek and back
- Photos and video
Not included
- Personal travel insurance
Who flies this one
- Anton Tomov — Tandem pilot · Check him yourself →
Limits and refunds
Passenger weight 40–100 kg. Chon-Tash flights are short — this is a sled ride with a view, not a thermal flight. If you want airtime, fly Karakol.
Long thermal tandem, 30–60 min
Price on request
For passengers who already did a 10-minute flight somewhere and want the real thing: we wait for the working part of the day, climb in thermals with the vultures and stay up. Booked as a half-day slot because the launch time depends on the air, not on your schedule.
| Duration | half day, 30–60 min airborne |
|---|---|
| Launch | Karakol or Suusamyr, chosen on the day |
Included
- Senior tandem pilot
- Full equipment
- Transfer
- Full-flight video and stills
- Flight track (IGC/GPX) if you want it
Not included
- Personal travel insurance
Who flies this one
- Anton Tomov — Tandem pilot · Check him yourself →
Limits and refunds
Passenger weight 45–95 kg. Thermic air is bumpy — if you are prone to motion sickness, book the standard flight instead. Two attempts inside your stay; if the air never works, full refund.
Questions
Is it safe?
Tandem paragliding under a certified pilot with a reserve parachute is a low-incident activity, but it is not a zero-risk one, and any operator telling you otherwise is selling. The two things that actually matter are the pilot's currency and the decision to not fly in marginal air. We cancel often. Kyrgyzstan's serious-trauma hospitals are in Bishkek, which is six to seven hours from Karakol by road — that distance is the strongest argument there is for cancelling early rather than launching hopefully.
What should I wear?
Trousers, closed shoes with ankle support, and one layer more than you think. It is 8–12 °C colder at launch than in town, and colder again in the air.
Can I bring a camera?
Nothing handheld and nothing on a stick. Anything you drop becomes a projectile and anything on a strap becomes a snag hazard near the lines. Your pilot's camera covers the flight and you get the footage the same day.
Will I be sick?
In smooth morning air, almost nobody. In midday thermals, some people. If you are prone to motion sickness, ask for an early slot and skip breakfast an hour before, not three hours before.
What if the weather cancels it?
Full refund or a rebooking on any later day of your stay, your choice. We do not keep deposits for weather.
Do I need insurance?
Your travel policy almost certainly excludes free flight. For a tandem flight as a passenger this matters less than it does for a pilot, but check the wording — if it says "hang gliding and paragliding excluded", you are uncovered for the one hour that carries the risk.
Related
- How much does paragliding in Kyrgyzstan cost?
- Is paragliding in Kyrgyzstan safe?
- When is the best time to paraglide in Kyrgyzstan?
- Do I need any experience to fly?
- What are the weight and age limits?
- What should I wear and bring?
- How long is the flight actually?
- Can I paraglide on a day trip from Bishkek?
Tell us your dates
Send the dates you are in the country and we will come back with the slots that have the best chance of usable air. 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.