Svaneti and Racha

Season

May, then August through to the end of October. You can fly here in early summer too — our 189-kilometre triangle was flown on 7 July. But we schedule the programme for May and for August–October, when the windows are steadier and the air is cleaner.

What the air does here

High alpine flying in its purest form. Base goes past four thousand — on the best day of 2020 the climb reached 4,931 metres. Transitions run over glaciers, with the peaks people come here to climb standing on the horizon.

The westerly valley wind builds after midday — that is the day main limit, and the task is built around it. You do not need oxygen at these heights, but cold and altitude tire you faster than they seem to at launch.

Racha

The neighbouring region, same character, same big mountains. On a good day we run from Svaneti into Racha and back — or the other way round, depending on where the weather is better.

What gets flown here

In the summer of 2020, four hundred-kilometre routes were flown out of Svaneti in ten days: 112, 118, 131 and 189 kilometres. The longest was a flat triangle of 189.66 km, seven and a half hours in the air.

Tracks are public, links below. We do not ask you to take our word for it.

Border zone

The area borders Russia. Routes are cleared with the border service, and there is a buffer strip you may not enter.

This is part of the morning briefing, not a formality — and it is one reason this is not a place to come on your own.

Who this suits

Confident, current pilots. People fly their first hundred here when they are ready for it — and get into trouble here when they are not. The valleys are narrow and help is far away.

What gets flown here

Tracks are public — check any of them.

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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