Known for its stunning beauty, Lake Atitlán is surrounded by volcanoes and offers breathtaking views for paragliders. The launch sites around the lake provide opportunities for both beginners and experienced pilots.
Looking for an exhilarating paragliding experience in Guatemala? Look no further than Panajachel, nestled by the stunning Lake Atitlan in the country's western highlands. This charming town, affectionately known as 'Pana,' serves as the perfect launchpad for your soaring adventure.
Picture this: breathtaking views of Lake Atitlan and its majestic volcanoes (Toliman, Atitlan, and San Pedro), and a birdseye views the nearby towns such as Santa Catarina Palopo and Panajachel. It's a vista straight out of a dream!
But that's not all. The weather here is paragliding perfection. With consistently warm days, cool nights, and gentle winds, you're practically guaranteed a smooth flight. Rain is a rare guest, which means more flying fun!
Whether you're an experienced paraglider or a newbie seeking to gain confidence, Panajachel is the place to be.
At lago the Atitlan, there is a nice free flying scene.With three volcanoes sumiting between 3000 and 3500m, and an active one some 30 something kms away, it is one of the most beautifull lakes in the world (from national geografic). That is if you don’t focus on the ocasional thrash floating around...It is a third world country ! I have lived here for three months, four years ago. The flying is epic ! there are two ‘major’ sites (lots of potentiel for more). The main one would be over Santa Catarina, comonly called Pana, for Panajachel, wich is the name of the city were the LZs are. Its a 600m high ridge with the lake below. You can fly the morning thermals here, though they can be rowdy ! But on a classic day, with light winds, from 1or 2 pm to 6 pm, the sea breeze reaches us and the flying becomes magik ! smooth lift, no turbulances and lots of height to practice maneuvers !! With 200m over take off, you just let yourself glide away from the hill and you got 500m of altitude to waist, you then come back to the ridge and climb back in 2-3 minutes...easy !! It is also excellent for relaxed soaring with the zopilotes, the local vaultures.
The other spot is called Santa Clara. It is mainly a thermal site with 500m drop. This is where the confluence from north winds and sea breeze happens...Some day the flying is super nice and the next day your in a washing machine ! The flying here is serious, for intermediate pilots (a student could fly early, in the morning air, it IS a 500m sled with the lake below !!). The ocean is 60 kms away and some pilots got pretty close to it !! The challenge is there. You can also do the little XC, flying from Santa Clara to Pana. We usually fly here from 8 to 11 am, before the sea breeze, avoiding the confluence and rough air associated. The nice thing about Santa Clara is, if you don’t like the conditions, you glide over the lake and everything gets smoother. One day, i climbed 200m over the indian head (litlle peak) a little late in the day and found myself in weird air...i just turned around and went for the LZ arriving over the lake with 800m to lose. Nice little accro session over water with smooth conditions. If you are an advised pilot who can look out for changing conditions, you will enjoy this site.
So, i have been here for three weeks and had 15 days in a row of good conditions. When the strong north comes in, it lasts from 1 to 3 days (the worst i have seen was 5 days). Cool spot for non flying partners as well. Lots of activitys if the wind is too strong...the flying season starts now.
