Paragliding La Cumbre Colima

Mexican Pacific Magazine Article

The view of the world is different from the top and in Colima there is no exception. That’s why a new breed of adventure-seeker is taking to the nearby hills to experience the adrenaline rush of jumping into open space.

In Colima the conditions are favorable to practice paragliding any day of the week and most seasons of the year. La Cumbre, a grass covered mountain 20 minutes from the capital is the preferred point for most gliding enthusiasts as it’s very accessible by ground. It has a sharp drop off of 400 meters from a little clearing where it’s easy to catch the thermal currents and coast on the air that comes sweeping up the side of the mountain.

Gliders begin to assemble in the late morning to lay out the colorful chutes on the grassy knoll, organize the various strings so that they’re not untangled and wait for the winds to pick up. Then at the right moment, helmets on and strapped into harnesses with hanging seats, they each toss their parachutes in the air, tug on the wind to see if it is right and take three running steps off the edge into the open air.

La Cumbre is not steep but drops dramatically down to a little town at the base, which grows tiny as the glider mounts on the thermal winds that come rushing up the canyon wall. Tomato fields, crops and farmland weave neat geometric patterns and textures below. Grassy areas and low forest are all visible in a stunning topographical map come to life. The sound of the silence is beautiful and awe inspiring.

Eagles and other birds coast nearby as if they too are enjoying the warm summer day. The church spires, snaking dirt roadways and colonial buildings of Colima present themselves below in an orderly, colorful fashion like a children’s miniature village. The rolling hills of Colima’s fertile fruit valley are visible until Manzanillo and in the opposite direction, the two volcanoes loom.

Paragliding off La Cumbre article from Mexican Pacific Magazine