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Guided XC
One week in one country, or twelve days across a whole mountain system in two.
Both programmes run on the same rule: the site is chosen from the forecast, not from the itinerary. We publish the regions and the number of days; the sky allocates them.
Why the two-country trip exists
It is not a marketing bundle. Almaty and Karakol are 350 km apart on the same range with genuinely different weather — one gets the northern steppe systems, the other sits behind a 1,600 m-deep lake that stores heat until November. The practical consequence is that a stalled week in one of them is survivable, which on a trip you flew six hours to reach is the difference between a story and a write-off.
It works because we run the ground in both countries. The guide crosses the border with you; you are not handed over to a stranger at a checkpoint, and both countries' frequencies and airspace get briefed by the same person who flies with you.
The border, honestly
The Kazakhstan–Kyrgyzstan land crossing is normally straightforward and occasionally slow. It is a travel day, not a flying day, and we schedule it as one. Check your own visa position for both countries before you book flights — Kyrgyzstan cut its visa-free window at the end of 2025 and the twelve-day trip sits comfortably inside the new rule, but a longer summer plan may not.
Almaty XC week, 7 days
Price on request
The easiest serious flying week in Central Asia to reach: Almaty has direct flights from most of Europe and the Gulf, a real city to land back in, and a flying plateau an hour from your hotel. Ground infrastructure here is genuinely better than in Kyrgyzstan — paved roads to most launches — which trades some wilderness for a much higher flyable-day conversion.
| Duration | 7 days / 6 nights |
|---|---|
| Group | per pilot, 4 pilots per guide |
| Regions | Ushkonyr · Oi-Qaragai · Zailiysky Alatau foothills · Assy plateau (subject to access) |
Included
- XC guide flying with the group
- Vehicle and driver every flying day
- Radio set on loan, LiveTrack monitoring
- Morning weather call, evening track debrief
- Hotel in Almaty with breakfast, twin share
- All transfers, airport pickup at Almaty (ALA)
Not included
- International flights
- Your flying equipment
- Insurance covering free flight and helicopter evacuation — mandatory
- Lunch and dinner
- Single supplement
Who flies this one
- Evgeniy Oreshkin — Lead XC guide, Almaty · airspace and the range front · Check him yourself →
- Steve Reed — XC guide · the English-language voice of the trip · Check him yourself →
Who this is for
IPPI 4 or national equivalent, 100+ hours, independent thermalling, comfortable landing out. SIV within three years recommended.
The honest version
Expect 4 to 5 flyable days of 7. The honest weakness of Almaty for XC is airspace: you are flying next to a major international airport and a large city, and the usable corridors are narrower than in Kyrgyzstan. We brief the boundaries every morning and we do not treat them as advisory.
Two countries, one range — 12 days Kazakhstan + Kyrgyzstan
Price on request
The trip nobody else runs, and the reason to talk to us rather than to a single-country operator. Almaty and Karakol sit on opposite ends of the same mountain system, four hours apart by road, with different weather. Twelve days across both means a stalled week in one of them is not a wasted holiday — and it is the only version of this trip where a flying guide crosses the border with you instead of handing you to a stranger.
| Duration | 12 days / 11 nights, Almaty in and out or Almaty in / Bishkek out |
|---|---|
| Group | per pilot, 4 pilots per guide |
| Regions | Ushkonyr · Chon-Tash · Suusamyr · Karakol |
Included
- Everything in the Almaty week, continued across the border
- Land border crossing with the group, all paperwork handled
- Four bases across two countries
- Both national radio/frequency briefings
- Two reserve days built into the schedule
Not included
- International flights
- Your flying equipment
- Insurance covering free flight and helicopter evacuation in both countries — mandatory, and check that both are named
- Lunch and dinner
- Single supplement
Who flies this one
- Steve Reed — XC guide · the English-language voice of the trip · Check him yourself →
- Vitaly Peredereev — XC guide · flew the top-scoring flight registered in Kyrgyzstan this season · Check him yourself →
- Evgeniy Oreshkin — Lead XC guide, Almaty · airspace and the range front · Check him yourself →
Who this is for
As the Almaty week. Check your visa position for both countries before booking — Kyrgyzstan's visa-free window changed at the end of 2025.
The honest version
Two borders, two sets of rules and two travel days inside twelve. If you want maximum airtime per day of holiday, book one country. This trip is for the pilot who wants the whole range.
Related
- Where do you paraglide near Almaty?
- When is the best time to paraglide in Almaty?
- What is the airspace situation for pilots near Almaty?
- Almaty or Kyrgyzstan — where should a visiting pilot go?
- Does travel insurance cover paragliding in Kazakhstan?
- How does retrieval work near Almaty?
Tell us what you fly
Send your rating, hours, personal best and last SIV, and you get a specific answer — a route and a retrieval zone, not a brochure. A person reads it and answers within one working day.
Or just get the season report
One email at the end of each season with the flyable days we actually logged, and one more if the SIV course opens. Nothing else, ever.