📍Tenerife - Mount Teide
🎟 €120
⏰ 45 Minute Flight Time
😱 8/10 Scareometer (Initially)
Paragliding
Before flying out to Tenerife, I found myself down a rabbit hole on YouTube one Sunday afternoon. I sat there watching hundreds of paragliding fails. After seeing a hundred people crashing into rocks and flipping upside down; I decided this was something I needed to experience. This wasn't the cheapest of activities, but this was one of those trips where I was going to do what I wanted to do.
Paragliding can only be conducted in good weather conditions for obvious reasons. If it's too windy or not windy enough, your excursion will be cancelled.
Tandem paragliding requires little effort from the passenger apart from the running pre-flight.
Don't watch paragliding fails before paragliding.
The Road To Mount Teide
Mount Teide is actually a volcano, it hasn't erupted since 1909 though. Towering at 12,188 ft it is the highest peak in all of Spain as well as above sea level in the Atlantic Islands.
Teide National Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. There are many excursions available here such as cable car rides, jeep safaris, stargazing and more.
I travelled up Mount Teide by car from Puerto De La Cruz. The higher we travelled up the winding roads I felt the temperature drop significantly. The blue skies became a cold white as I realised, we were now literally driving through clouds!
Pre-Flight
I booked this excursion through a tour operator that I had researched thoroughly prior to arriving in Puerto De La Cruz, Tenerife. I laboriously read through reviews on trip advisor and google before concluding that this was the company I wished to fly with. I would recommend not bringing any valuables with you, as if you do drop them, I doubt you'll ever see them again.
I brought my phone with me in my bum bag, which I fastened securely and placed underneath my jacket. Risky? Yes. However, I just had visions of being stranded on a mountain with no means of communication. I watch a lot of movies. I wasn't nervous prior to flight until I stepped foot on the edge of that mountain. Yes, those are clouds in the video.
Flight
The flight wasn't really scary at all looking back at it. You're essentially just sitting down whilst the pilot does most of the work. I did have a go controlling the parachute for a while and that was quite fun, but my arms did start to hurt.
One particularly scary moment was when travelling through the clouds. It was absolutely freezing; I was shivering like I'd never shivered before. It was so surreal looking around and seeing nothing but white. I felt like I was in limbo. (My very active imagination).
I also feared for my life when the pilot decided to start spinning around and doing tricks. I wasn't here for that at alllll.
"Yay or Nay"
I would definitely recommend paragliding at least once in your life. Initially, it does seem a bit daunting but the views are spectacular. It's a bit like being on a rollercoaster some times you might scream a little but overall, super fun. For most parts the flight is smooth, you just sit back and take in the breathtaking sights.
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