Thermals off Sarangkot ridge carry paragliders over Phewa Lake with the Annapurna range filling the horizon.
Pokhara is ranked among the world's best paragliding sites for a simple reason: launch from Sarangkot ridge at 1,600 metres and reliable thermals can keep a glider airborne for well over half an hour, circling above Phewa Lake with the snow line of the Annapurna and Machapuchare massif filling the entire northern horizon.
Tandem flights need no experience — a certified pilot handles launch, thermals and landing while you take in a view that combines a Himalayan skyline with a lakeside city few other flying sites can match, and vultures often share the same thermal, banking a wingspan away.
Fly in the clearer pre-monsoon months of autumn or spring for the best mountain visibility, book with a pilot registered under Nepal's paragliding association rather than the cheapest tout on the lakefront, and land assuming a slightly bumpy touchdown on the lakeside strip — it's part of the ride.
