Paragliding is a relatively undeveloped sport in Sri Lanka despite an abundance of suitable mountain areas. There is a club operating out of Colombo offering tandem paramotoring experiences and skydiving.
Despite the mountains Sri Lanka isn’t a natural place to find paragliding on account of the lack of suitable landing areas. The country’s tropical climate mean that meadows and other dry landing areas aren’t common and instead landing on roads between wet paddy fields would often be the only possibility. Those who plan on using their own equipment should look for cricket fields as the best suitable landing areas before selecting a mountain to paraglide from.
The only organised paragliding on the island is from the Ella Adventure Park which is located in the Southern-centre of the island. The park is an new eco-park offering tourists the chance to experience unspoilt jungle and take part in activities such as trekking, kayaking and caving along with paragliding. The park is located around 200km East of Colombo and is best reached by car or bus.
The park is relatively isolated so it’s typically best to stay in the hotel there if you wish to paraglide in Sri Lanka. The accommodation is designed to be appropriate for the jungle, so don’t expect Western style service. Paragliding in Sri Lanka should be treated more as part of an adventure holiday than an excursion as part of a wider holiday. Booking a holiday with the Ella Adventure Park will also enable you to take part in the other activities offered, many of them involving the fantastic waters of the Kirindi river that the park is located on the banks of.
