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Answers

Every question we actually get asked about flying near Almaty, answered in one place, with the real figure where we have one and an admission where we do not.

First flight

• How much does paragliding in Almaty cost?
  Local flights start around 22,000–30,000 tenge for 10–15 minutes. Ours is $170 for 15–25 minutes with a private hotel transfer, a senior pilot and full video. Both are real options; the difference is airtime and scheduling.
• Is paragliding in Almaty safe?
  Low-incident, not zero-risk. Almaty has the region's best position on this: proper hospitals are 40 minutes from the main launch, not six hours. The decisions that matter are the pilot's currency and the willingness to cancel.
• What are the weight and age limits?
  45–100 kg for the standard flight, 45–95 kg for the long thermal flight, age 16 and over. Minors fly with a parent present.
• What should I wear and bring?
  Trousers, closed shoes with ankle support, one layer more than the city needs. Nothing handheld — no cameras, no selfie sticks. The pilot's camera covers the flight.

Both

• Where do you paraglide near Almaty?
  Ushkonyr plateau at about 1,750 m is the main site, an hour west of the city. Oi-Qaragai is the wet-weather alternative, the Sunkar area does short city flights, and the Assy plateau is the high-altitude option in summer only.
• When is the best time to paraglide in Almaty?
  September for everything, April for a calm first flight. July is the strongest and least usable — Ushkonyr blows out on most summer afternoons, so summer flying happens before 11:00.
• Does travel insurance cover paragliding in Kazakhstan?
  Almost never. Standard policies exclude free flight in a clause listing "hang gliding, paragliding, parachuting". You need a policy naming paragliding plus helicopter evacuation and repatriation.
• How do I get to the launch from Almaty?
  About an hour west of the city, paved most of the way with a short dirt section. A private transfer from your hotel is included in every product we sell.
• What happens if the weather cancels my flight?
  Full refund, or a slot on any other day of your stay — your choice. We do not keep deposits for weather.

For pilots

• What is the airspace situation for pilots near Almaty?
  You are flying beside a major international airport and Kazakh airspace is not in the app on your phone. The AIP is the only authoritative document. We brief boundaries every morning and mark what we are unsure about.
• Almaty or Kyrgyzstan — where should a visiting pilot go?
  Almaty for reliability: direct flights, paved access, hospitals 40 minutes away, easy retrieval. Kyrgyzstan for wilderness: higher cloudbase, no airspace constraints, terrain you can commit a week to. Or take the twelve-day trip across both.
• How does retrieval work near Almaty?
  Vehicle and driver for the day, radio on your frequency, LiveTrack watched from town. Pickups run 20–60 minutes because most of the range front has a paved road under it. The hard part here is airspace, not access.