Kakheti

Season

March to November. The best window is July to September: dry, hot, cloudbase climbing to 3,500–4,000 metres. Spring thermals are stronger but so is the wind. Autumn is gentle — a good time to get current again.

What the air does here

A long valley under a ninety-kilometre ridge. The ridge shelters it from the synoptic wind, so the day is driven by the valley own thermal breeze. The slopes are wooded, which smooths the lift and keeps turbulence moderate. There is somewhere to land almost everywhere.

One honest detail nobody writes down: in summer an inversion sits in the valley and you will not reach base before noon. That is not a bad day — that is the rhythm of the place, and we build the day around it rather than against it.

Where the routes run

Kakheti works both as a region in its own right and as the finish of long routes out of Gudauri. The 147-kilometre flight ended right here, on the valley floor near Telavi, among the vineyards.

The valley is wide and long: it is easier to hold a line and easier to pick a field if the day does not come together. For a first hundred that matters more than dramatic terrain.

Who this suits

Pilots who already fly on their own but have not yet flown distance. If your goal this season is a first hundred, this is a sensible place to start.

Flying in Georgia runs on permits

Since 2023 paragliding in Georgia is regulated by law. You may only fly in approved zones, and only with a permit issued to you. You cannot simply turn up with your wing and fly.

The rules did not come from nowhere: in 2022 a border-police helicopter crashed during a rescue near Gudauri. Flying was closed nationwide for almost a year afterwards.

Three things we need from you

1. Send us your documents after booking — we will list exactly which ones.
2. Book early. The group has to form, the paperwork goes to the Federation, and that takes time. Two days before departure is not enough.
3. Hold insurance that covers paragliding.

Why this makes the trip better, not harder

We do not get a blanket permit. We get one for a specific group and specific regions — and often for several at once: Kazbegi, Kakheti, Svaneti, Racha. Then we watch the weather and go where the window is that week.

Why you want a guide in Georgia

Honestly: in Georgia you can launch from almost anywhere. Alpine meadows, tree-free slopes, open fields — walk up and go. There are plenty of approved sites here and we are not going to pretend otherwise.

The difficulty is not where to launch. It is that the micro-climate changes very fast, and differently in neighbouring valleys. The wind that worked an hour ago turns around. A valley that flew in the morning shuts by midday. That is not bad luck — that is normal air here.

A guide is not there to point at a map. A guide is there to read the forecast in the morning and say: today we go there, this is the task, and we are not going that way. And to say "no flying today" when that is the call.

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