FRESH AIR
highly addictive
APRIL 2010
A takeaway guide to paragliding in the mountains of central Portugal
It was Tuesday again, somewhere in a basement in London, and I needed a holiday. Somewhere in the bright summer sun where the thermals were cheerful, the culture easy-going, and the weather was flyable. Somewhere with a mountain range, big open spaces and most importantly, no crowds. Sounds too good to be true, right?
Situated at the foot of the Serra da Estrela mountains, the restored farmhouse of Paraglide Portugal was a welcome sight after the 2 hour transfer from Porto airport. The house is testament to the dedication of Arnold and Marié Marx, who built the modern lodge from the remains of a ruined stone barn. They chose their property well. The lodge faces the nearby mountains and can be glided to from the main launch site after a good climb. It has ample shade on the ground floor and a wide balcony upstairs for those who like to soak up the sun. The living area is open-plan and spacious. Apart from the tilled vegetable gardens, trees and a river, there’s a private landing field which is easily large enough to land a paraglider on, and a lawn for folding your glider. It’s an idyllic secluded location, on the outskirts of a small traditional Portuguese hamlet.
The moment we arrived we were presented with a leisurely lunch. Marié has years of experience in the hospitality industry and is a talented chef, which all goes to make the lifestyle at their lodge very appealing. More fresh bread and cheese with your glass of wine?
After a siesta, Arnold took us up the winding road to the flying sites. The road passes a gently-sloped landing field and a charming old village before cresting the ridge that offers a selection of easy launch sites overlooking the valley. Linhares faces NW and is about 500m high. It is a regular competition site and will host the Paragliding World Cup in August 2010.
Arnold’s flying experience was gained in South Africa, Colorado and Texas. He flies both hang-gliders and paragliders, and knows about flying in mountains and in dry inland climates, so I felt reassured that I could rely on his judgement of safe flying conditions.
My wife enjoyed floating down over the red tiled roofs and after some hunting for late afternoon thermals, I hooked a narrow core and wound my way up to cloudbase at 2200m. As I climbed up the pilot’s playground was revealed to me. Roughly translated, Serra da Estrela means ‘Mountains of the Stars’ and it is roughly star-shaped, with ridges extending outwards from the high point close to 2000m above sea level. The whole region is a nature reserve, but it is open to anyone who wants to explore, hike, bike, or fly. Further to the east the mountains become more severe and alpine, but the extensive front ridges are gentle and the flatlands to the west are crisscrossed with roads that offer many interesting routes.
Even though you are 100km from the coast, a westerly seabreeze often pushes inland in the afternoon, which makes Linhares a good soaring and thermalling site, but the better XC site is deeper in the mountains at Azinha. This is an impressive south-east-facing forested ridge that juts out 700m above two valleys. The flying can become intense due to the constricted valley landings and limited escape routes, however given the big altitude gains often achieved crossing the mountains is quite possible for more experienced pilots.
The alternative site that avoids the upper wind is Vale de Amoreira, which is positioned on an east-facing spur. A useful 300m site for early morning flights, it becomes an XC site as the day heats up. After a difficult transition when the wind increased but the thermals weren’t boosting me up high enough, I escaped from the closed valley system to the great flatlands beyond Covilha. Flying in this direction sets you up on the highway leading towards Castelo Branco and the south coast of Portugal, 350km away.
Arnold recommends visiting between May and August, although it is surely flyable from March to October. Considering that you only have 50km to fly before entering Spain to the east, you’ll understand the potential for big cross country flights.
The restaurants we visited offered fantastic traditional cuisine. Nearby Coimbra has historic tourist attractions, and the coast is just over 100km away if you’d prefer a day on the beach. Living costs in Portugal are cheap by European standards, and at their current rates Paraglide Portugal are fairly priced when you consider they offer a full-service package including meals, guiding, retrieves and wireless internet at the lodge for around €70 per person in a group.
The only criticisms I can make are that the retrieve vehicle is fairly basic, there is no easy SW site and the morning sites are too challenging for low airtime pilots to try XC. However, as Arnold explores the area new sites will doubtless be added to his portfolio, and more than half the time you’ll be flying at the friendly Linhares site. For someone who knows their game the XC is challenging and varied. For those with less experience, playing in the valley in the afternoon and trying to fly back to the lodge can be great fun. I found the flying more mellow than South African inland conditions but with more than enough peri-peri to make me sweat. Excelente!
I’ll certainly return to the Serra da Estrela. For more information on flying in this area, visit paraglideportugal.com
There are a few spaces left on the Flybubble trip at the end of June! Join one of the world's top instructors, Carlo Borsattino, and his helpful partner Nancy Elliot for a week of cross country and airtime. They will be teaming up with Arnold and Marie of Paraglide Portugal so you'll get some amazing team support if you book through Flybubble for this particular trip ... check out their website.
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