Difference between Skydiving & Paragliding-Choose Your Place to Glide and Dive

by Saurabh Gupta Digital Markter

Adventure is integral to travelling, and for those who find the brief moments of adrenaline rush irresistible, Skydiving and Paragliding are two common names. While the former refers to the act of diving towards the land from thousands of meters up in the sky, the latter refers to fly taking off from the ground to reach the sky. However, using the right gears adequately and accurately remains central to both the activities.

Just like gears, there are certain other elements also that make for a major difference between these two adventure sports. As a travel blogger, I have noticed that many people find the two pretty confusing. Hence, to help you all get rid of the confusion, here I have brought forth a brief analysis of how the two sporting activities differ.

The Gears

Skydiving needs the diver to wear a parachute that helps in the final landing. Once the diver dives from the aircraft and falls freely, succumbing to the gravitational pull of the earth, the distance between the diver and the land starts to reduce. Once the diver reaches close to the land and becomes ready for the landing, he/she has to shoot open the parachute for a smoothly glided landing.

On the other hand, paragliding is done using paragliders. Though both the gears appear to be almost same, they are indeed very different. Paragliders are specially sewn in a manner that they can stay afloat in the air managing the air buoyancy perfectly. Also, paragliders are larger and help you take off, stay afloat in the air and come down depending on how you pilot it.

Weather Knowledge

Paragliders need to have more knowledge of the weather than the skydivers. Paragliding is all about navigating through the air, which needs the paragliders to be aware of the weather condition. A little turn in the wind direction or humidity in the air can turn the journey of a paraglider upside down. On the other hand, skydivers are taken to the dropzone in an aircraft, and after checking the weather, they are allowed to dive in. Hence, the personal knowledge of the skydivers hardly impacts their act of diving like the paragliders.

Safety Measures

Skydiving and paragliding are two different sports and involve different levels of safety measures. As far as skydiving is concerned, the parachutes are specially made to aid in the landing process and thus act as a great help to the diver during the landing process. On the other hand, paragliders are made to stay afloat balancing the aerodynamic forces, which compels the paragliders to opt for specific training to understand the flow of the wind and other aspects of flying in particular.

Adventure is something that adds dimensions to your travel experience. And as an adventure enthusiast travel blogger, I can assure you that be it paragliding or skydiving, the high cliffs of the mountains are the best place to indulge in an enthralling experience. After all, beholding the rugged landscape underneath sculpted with streams and patches of woods while floating over the region is a lifetime experience, and opting for any of these activities will provide you with a perfect bird’s eye view that you will cherish for life.

Choose Your Places To Dive

1. Santa Barbara, California

Santa Barbara is located in California, North America and is one of the ideal locations for trying the skydiving. It owns the privilege for being the highest tandem skydive at 18,000 ft. It is well situated just about a few miles away from the great Pacific Ocean and the breath taking scenic & panoramic views of the California coastline witnessed and viewed from here is nothing that the words can ever describe.

2. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Dubai has slowly but eventually become one of the best skydiving destinations in the globe. When you are flying under the blue sky and above the beautiful Dubai, the sight you witness is something to behold for a long time and nothing can beat spending the night at the desert safari after taking that thrilling dive. So, think which one will you choose when it comes to skydiving vs paragliding.

3. Denarau Island, Fiji

While talking about the breath taking yet very adventurous sky diving, we shouldn’t ignore Denarau Island which is certainly known and recognised for this adventure sport. Right from above you can have a great experience watching the tropical waters below clear enough to see the fishes and coral within. Skydiving from a height of 14,000 will certainly be of great thrill and fun while enjoying the awe-inspiring views while you take that jump.

4. Interlaken, Switzerland

Nothing can be better than skydiving in the Swiss Alps and to enjoy an extraordinary view of the snow-capped mountains and glaciers. Besides being thrilling and fun it was indeed affordable comparatively

5. Fox Glacier, New Zealand

New Zealand is certainly considered to be the adventure capital of the world. Amidst the scenic views and panoramic sights, the spectacular lakes, magnificent glaciers and mountains, it is altogether a different level of fun and thrill to skydive here. While we do skydiving vs paragliding guide, keep noting the points that will make one of them win for you. You can truly get an adrenaline rush while to leave the surface and skydive right here in the heart of Fox Glacier, New Zealand.

6. Mount Everest, Nepal

Nepal:If you are seeking for an ultimate skydiving experience, then trust me, there is nothing better than doing it right over the highest mountain peak in the world about 29,500 ft precisely which is the mighty Mount Everest. Skydiving here is certainly gaining an experience of a lifetime and it is considered to be a paradise for any skydive junkie.

Choose Your Places To Glide..

The below mentioned places are known to be a hub for paragliding, take a look! These places are known for offering the best experience of paragliding.

1. Bazaruto Archipelago, Mozambique

This heavenly blessed place is set about 750 km off the mainland and is known to be decently remote. To make a note of, the place is no way near touched by civilization and is situated amidst white sandy beaches and crystal-clear water. The very well popular Aficionados Jody MacDonald and Gavin McClurg were said to be the paragliding pioneers in Bazaruto Archipelago.

2. Queenstown, New Zealand

This is a very beautiful resort town located in the South Islands which is known to attract a huge number of tourists throughout the year. It is very well surrounded by the Southern Alps and built around Wakatipu which makes it an ideal spot for paragliding. The amazing nature and some decent panoramic views to behold makes this place nothing but perfect for paragliding.