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Paragliding in Interlaken, Switzerland – Magnificent Views of Swiss Alps From Over 1000 Metres Up In The Air!

May 22nd, 2019 by | Tagged in: , , , , ,

I watched in awe as the wife took off into the air, paragliding above Interlaken against the backdrop of the majestic Swiss Alps. I was standing at the top of Beatenberg mountain in Switzerland, which was our paragliding take-off point. The wife had taken off first. After watching her glide off, it was suddenly my turn to fly. My tandem pilot prompted me from behind with his thick German accent, “Ok now your turn sir, let’s go!” I leaned forward and tried my best to run as fast as I could, praying that I would not mess up the take-off. To my dismay, despite my best efforts, I found myself being pulled backwards instead. “Oh no,” I muttered to myself. This article was last updated on 29 April 2020.

Table of Contents

What is Tandem Paragliding?


Tandem Paragliding is a two-person paragliding activity where the passenger is strapped into a harness in front of a professional pilot, so that both of them can paraglide together, or in “tandem”.

It is a relatively low-risk activity that does not require any prior training. Note that paragliding is a different type of activity from hang gliding.

During my holiday in the Jungfrau region, I decided to give this exciting activity a try. This is also the place where Yoon Se-ri learned paragliding in the hit K-Drama, “Crash Landing On You”!

Paragliding Interlaken – Top Ranked Paragliding Company

Group photo with our awesome pilots!

The wife and I had never done tandem paragliding before, so I wanted to find a reliable company that had a good track record of safety.

Paragliding might be an awesome activity, but I didn’t want to have to risk our lives for the experience (or end up like Se-ri and crash land somewhere).

A quick search online led me to the creatively named Paragliding Interlaken, which is ranked as the top Interlaken paragliding company on TripAdvisor.

The company has over 98% “good” and “excellent” reviews on TripAdvisor. After reading through the reviews, I felt that we would be safe paragliding with their pilots.

How to Book Paragliding in Interlaken (And Price)


It was quite easy to book my flight with Paragliding Interlaken. I went to their website, selected the paragliding package (CHF 170), and made a booking for my preferred date and time. For more details, you can check out my article on how to book paragliding in Interlaken. If you prefer, you can also book through Klook.

If you have any questions, you can just email Paragliding Interlaken at mail@paragliding-interlaken.ch. Before my trip, I emailed them to ask many questions. The staff was extremely helpful and always replied my emails promptly.

Reschedule Due to Bad Weather

We did not have the best start to our paragliding adventure.

On the day of our flight, I woke up to see that it was raining. I had booked the paragliding for 9.30am. Looking at the wet weather, I didn’t think we would be able to go ahead with the activity.

True enough, I received a call from Paragliding Interlaken at around 8am, informing me that the activity had been cancelled. Needless to say, the wife and I were really disappointed.

Luckily, the staff told me that I could reschedule the paragliding for another day at no additional cost.

After hanging up the phone, the wife and I did a quick reshuffle of our itinerary, and decided to book the paragliding for noon the next day.

I called Paragliding Interlaken and was relieved that they still had vacancies for our preferred time slot.

Pick Up by Shuttle Bus

It was easy to spot the shuttle bus

The next day, after an amazing morning at First Cliff Walk by Tissot, the wife and I went to our arranged pickup point at Interlaken Ost train station.

It was easy to spot Paragliding Interlaken’s bright red and yellow shuttle bus with its logo emblazoned on the side. We were greeted by a very friendly driver who checked our details quickly before letting us onto the bus.

The driver then went on to pick up the other paragliding passengers at their respective hotels.

Paragliding Interlaken Office

The entrance

We had to change into these boots

Once all the passengers were onboard, we were driven to the Paragliding Interlaken office near Höhematte Park, where we had to change into boots. This was because the shoes we were wearing might fall off during the flight.

We were also told to keep our belongings in their lockers. These included my backpack, the wife’s handbag, and some tidbits we had bought from co-op earlier.

We were allowed to bring along our handphones, because they could be kept in a zipped compartment on our windbreaker or paragliding backpack.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t bring along my mirrorless camera for the flight, even though it had a neck strap attached. According to the Paragliding Interlaken staff, this was because the camera had a “removable lens” which might drop off. I felt a little bummed about this.

Luckily, I was still allowed to wear my action camera, which was tightly secured to my body using a chest strap.

Instructions and Safety Brief

Stef standing up to give us the training and safety brief

After that, we got back onto the bus for our ride to the take-off point on Beatenberg Mountain. Along the way, the bus picked up our paragliding pilots.

It was pretty cool to see the pilots coming up the bus wearing their visors and large paragliding backpacks.

One of the pilots introduced himself as Stef, before asking all of us where we were from. There were around 8 passengers, hailing from India, South Korea, China, and Singapore (the wife and me).

Stef (who also happened to be the wife’s pilot later) was a friendly and nice guy. After telling us the names of all the paragliding pilots, he said, “The reason why I’m telling you all these weird names is because you can get to choose your pilot, if you wish.”

I guess there were people who had their preferred pilots after reading online reviews on TripAdvisor. However, none of the us had any preferred pilots, and so we were each given a form with a random pilot’s name.


I was paired up with Nick, while the wife got Stef. We also had to write down our names and sign on the form. This was probably some kind of consent form.

After that, Stef proceeded to give us a training and safety talk. He told us that for taking off, it was important to focus on running, and that we should not sit down until we were up in the air.

Also, if we felt unwell, we should inform the pilot immediately. For example, some passengers might experience motion sickness.

He reminded us not to keep any loose belongings on our bodies. This was because if anything dropped from the sky, it would be a serious criminal offence for both the pilot and the passenger.

Scenic Drive up Beatenberg Mountain


After the briefing was over, the wife and I settled back in our seats to enjoy the scenic ride up Beatenberg Mountain.

Along the way, I saw lush green fields, dense clusters of beautiful pine trees, and small Swiss villages.

In total, the ride took about 20 minutes. The shuttle bus had good air-conditioning and it was a very comfortable ride.

Walking to Take-Off Point


Soon, the bus stopped and all of us alighted. I met my pilot Nick who greeted me with a firm handshake.

He handed me my paragliding bag, and we proceeded to walk up a mildly sloping path to the take-off spot.

The wife and Stef followed just behind us.


Along the way, I made small-talk with Nick, who was very friendly and approachable. However, I could feel my heartbeat increasing a little as we got closer to the take-off point.

Beautiful Views from Beatenberg Mountain


After walking for a few minutes, we reached the take-off spot where I was treated to paranomic views of the Swiss Alps and Interlaken. It was gorgeous!

There were several other paragliders taking off from here, and it was a beautiful sight to see them flying off into the beautiful Swiss landscape.


Stef and Nick promptly proceeded to set up the paragliding gear, while the wife and I busied ourselves with taking photos of the amazing scenery.

Soon, Stef and Nick were done with the setup. We took some photos with both of them, before quickly proceeding to our respective paragliders neatly laid out on the grass.

Taking Off!

The wife lifting off!

As the wife and I waited for our turns, I saw a tandem pilot and his passenger falling backwards onto the grass while trying to take off. I was really hoping I would not end up like them.

Nick told me it was probably because the passenger had sat down too quickly while taking off.

A short while later, it was the wife’s turn to fly. I saw Stef and her taking less than ten quick steps before smoothly gliding off the mountain and into the air.

Wow, now for my pride’s sake I definitely couldn’t mess up my take-off.


After the wife flew off, it was my turn almost immediately. Nick told me to start running which I did, but somehow my feet couldn’t touch the ground after just a few steps.

To my dismay I actually found myself moving backwards for a second. I thought I had messed up the take-off and muttered, “Oh no”.

However, I was quickly reassured by Nick, “You’re good sir, you’re good.”


And he was right, somehow we had made it up into the air. However, I was more than just “good”. I was feeling incredible!

An Amazing Experience

Incredible Views!


It’s hard to describe my emotions as I glided through the air, surrounded by the gorgeous Swiss landscape.

Switzerland is a beautiful country to explore, but to see it from high up in the sky is another amazing experience all together.

According to Paragliding Interlaken’s website, we were flying at 800 metres above Interlaken, and 1350 metres above sea level.

It was surreal to see the stunning snow-capped mountains as I glided through the air. It was everything I had imagined Switzerland to be, and more.

Once, Nick brought us really close to the pine trees on the side of a mountain, which was really cool (and a little scary). It felt like the tree canopy was just beneath my feet.

We also flew above Interlaken, the popular Swiss resort town. Nick explained to me that the town’s name meant “between lakes” in German, and it was so named because of its location between the two famous lakes of Lake Brienz and Lake Thun.

It felt fantastic to get a bird’s-eye view (literally) of the town and its two adjacent beautiful lakes with turquoise waters.

Towards the end of the flight, Nick asked me whether I wanted to do the “roller coaster“, which meant that he would do some paragliding tricks. I declined because I’m not really a fan of thrilling rides, whether on land or in the air.


The wife, ever the adrenaline junkie, opted in of course. According to her, it was a super fun experience filled with exciting turns and flips.

If you are a thrill-seeker like my wife, I highly recommend going for the “roller coaster” experience. If not, you can be like me and just chill out in the sky.

Landing at Höhematte Park


Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Nick and I started descending towards Höhematte Park in Interlaken.


While going down, we flew by a restaurant located at the top of a hotel. I waved to the guests sitting by the window and they waved back at me enthusiastically. That was a really fun experience!

While descending, Nick told me that it would be really easy to land. He told me that basically I just needed to “keep walking” upon touching down.


As we approached the field, Nick told me to put out my legs, and I landed gently on my feet in the soft grassy field.

I continued walking for a more steps before slowly coming to a stop. It was a really smooth and easy landing.

The paragliding airtime between take-off and landing was about 15 minutes.

Photos and Video Package


After the flight, the wife and I were immediately shown pictures and videos of our paragliding experience, taken by our pilots.

The photos cost CHF 32, while photos and videos together cost CHF 40. Since this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, the wife and I decided to purchase the photos and videos, though I felt it was quite expensive.

I paid on the spot using my credit card (they have a portable payment terminal).

You can choose to AirDrop the footage directly onto your iPhone, or get them in a thumb drive. We chose to get the thumb drive.

Retrieving Our Belongings From The Office


From Höhematte Park, we walked for about 5 minutes to the Paragliding Interlaken office to pick up our shoes and belongings.

After that, we walked for around 10 minutes to Interlaken Ost to catch the train back to Wengen where we were staying.

Our Paragliding Itinerary


Here’s a summary of our paragliding trip. The entire duration from start to end was about 90 minutes.

  • Pick up at Interlaken Ost Station
  • Pick up of other passengers in Interlaken
  • Short drive to Paragliding Interlaken office to change shoes and store belongings
  • 20-minute drive up Beatenberg mountain
  • 15-minute paragliding airtime
  • Land at Höhematte Park
  • Pay for pictures and videos
  • 5-minute walk to Paragliding Interlaken office to get our belongings

Conclusion


The wife and I had an amazing paragliding experience with Paragliding Interlaken. It was surreal to enjoy the breathtaking views of Switzerland from high up in the sky.

Because we visited in April, it was still a little cloudy. I can only imagine how much more beautiful it must be during summer.

Both our pilots Stef and Nick made us feel very comfortable and safe throughout our flights. Nick was very friendly and provided me with plenty of interesting information during my flight. The wife enjoyed her flight with Stef too, who was a super nice guy. He took plenty of amazing footage of her during the flight.

Paragliding in Interlaken, Switzerland is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience which I will never forget.

Paragliding Interlaken
Website: www.paragliding-interlaken.ch
Email: mail@paragliding-interlaken.ch
Phone: +41 33 823 8233
Address: Höheweg 115, 3800 Interlaken, Switzerland

This article is part of our completely free and fantastic Ultimate Jungfrau Region Travel Guide. Why spend days researching when all your holiday information is simply a click away?

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