Cross Country Paragliding in Pokhara

• One to Three Hours in the Air: A proper cross-country flight rather than the standard twenty-minute tandem descent.

• Thermalling to 3,000 m: Climb well above the launch on the ridge thermals, with the Annapurnas at eye level.

• Thirty Kilometres or More: Work the ridge north and west from Sarangkot, landing wherever the day takes you.

• Senior Cross-Country Pilots: Flown by pilots with a cross-country rating rather than a standard tandem ticket.

• Retrieve Vehicle Included: A vehicle follows the flight and collects you from wherever you come down.

You launch from Sarangkot (1,592 m) in the late morning, once the thermic cycle has established. Rather than gliding straight down to the lake, your pilot works the ridge lift and the thermals to climb — typically to 2,200 m to 3,000 m — and then heads north-west along the ridge system toward Naudanda, Kande and beyond, gaining and losing height with the day.

Flight duration depends entirely on conditions: on a good autumn day two to three hours and thirty to fifty kilometres are realistic, on a flat day it may be an hour. Nobody can promise a distance. The landing site is decided in the air, and a retrieve vehicle tracks the flight and picks you up, which is why this costs several times what a standard tandem does.

You need no experience — it is a tandem flight and the pilot does everything — but you do need a reasonable tolerance for time in a harness and for the sensations of thermalling. Turning in a thermal is a sustained banked spiral, and people who are prone to motion sickness usually find twenty minutes fine and two hours much less so. If you are unsure, fly the standard tandem first and book this on another day.

It gets cold above 2,500 m even when Pokhara is warm, so gloves and a proper jacket matter. You sit in a padded harness with your legs supported, so it is more comfortable than it looks, and there is very little sense of height once you are away from the hill. The pilot will hand you the brake toggles for a while if you want to fly it yourself.

October to April is the flying season and November to February is the best of it: stable air, reliable thermals and the clearest Annapurna views of the year. Cross-country flights need more from the weather than a standard tandem does — the day must have working thermals and a usable wind direction, and a marginal day gives a short flight rather than a long one.

Flights are cancelled for rain, high wind or poor visibility, and that decision belongs to the pilot. If we cancel, you can rebook for another day at no charge or take a full refund. If conditions collapse after launch and the flight is short, we will normally offer a discounted second flight rather than a refund — that is the honest position and we would rather say so at booking than argue about it afterwards.

Minimum age 16 for a cross-country flight, minimum weight 35 kg, maximum 95 kg. You cannot fly with a heart condition, uncontrolled epilepsy, a recent fracture or if you are pregnant. You need to be able to run a few steps at launch and, at landing, to stand up — declare any mobility issue at booking and we will match you with a pilot who can plan for it.

Bring warm layers, gloves, closed shoes with ankle support (no sandals or flip-flops), sunglasses and sunscreen. Do not bring a loose hat. Phones are permitted only on a secure lanyard, and the pilot will usually offer to hold and film with a mounted camera instead — the footage is bought separately at the landing site.

• Paragliding in Pokhara: One of the World's Best Flying Sites — A 1,000 m launch at Sarangkot, reliable thermals, a lake to land beside and an 8,000 m massif behind.

• Parahawking in Pokhara: The Complete Guide — A tandem paraglide flown alongside a trained bird of prey that finds the thermals for you and comes to your gloved hand in mid-air.