Paragliding Reunion
Zarlor Paragliding Reunion. Our island is already magical by walking around it… but by taking a little height, we discover Intense Island from a new point of view! Get ready to live a moment you will remember by flying above St-Leu in a paraglider.
What is a Zarlor ?
Zarlor is a creol word that means « treasure » !
But here, ” Zarlor ” are activities, recommendations (guided tours, sport or cutltural activities…) highlighted by the Tourist Office to discover or re discover the West part of the island.
Don’t forget to set your alarm clock!
The best way to maximize your chances of enjoying the best conditions is to take off early.
The meeting is therefore set at 8:30 a.m., in the Kelonia beach car park, right next to the turtle care center, at the northern entrance to the town of St-Leu. You will not be able to miss the meeting area because it is the landing area for paragliders. You will see the vans of the different paragliding schools that offer flights. Today, the take-off will be with Air Lagon, paragliding pioneers in Réunion, so we join the team who will explain to us the course of our morning.
From 0 to 800m, towards the take-off platform
Once all the participants for the day’s flight have arrived, we take the shuttle to climb a little and find our take-off point.
Located at an altitude of 800m, the departure is from the Colimaçons platform, it takes about twenty minutes to get there from the beach. It’s perfect, it allows us to get to know the team and the other people ready to fly with us today.
Stéphane will take us flying today and Benjamin, at the wheel, explains to us how it will go while relaxing a little those who would be a little anxious at the idea of flying.
The road is super pleasant, the higher you go, the greener it is, the ocean is revealed between 2 trees… the journey would pass almost too quickly! But that’s it, we can see the departure zone, take-off is not very far away…
Paragliding Reunion: all sails out!
Arrived on the platform, there are already a lot of people ready to take advantage of the superb conditions of the day to set off.
With all the sails, it’s a real festival of colors in the area.
Some look like they were made with joggers straight out of the 90s!
While we marvel at the spectacle of the take-off area, the Air Lagon team takes out the huge bags containing our sails and brings them to the take-off area.
Flights from other schools follow one another while our instructors for the day prepare the sails and lines so as not to miss the perfect slot. On our side, we put on a harness and a helmet, safety first!
Don’t forget your sweater or your jacket, because in the morning, in the air at more than 800m, it may be on a tropical island… it’s cold!
PNC at the gates. Ready to take off.
We feel the excitement rising, it will soon be ours. We are told that we will have to run, harnessed to the instructor, until we take off. The person in front of us takes flight, we’ll be next!
Stéphane comes to strap me against him, he inflates his sail and tells me that it’s time to run.
I run at his pace and slowly realize that I’m still running…but my feet are off the ground! We took off!
With the drop, you get away from the bare ground quite quickly and the view becomes impressive in no time! We fly over the cane fields which are in bloom at this time of the year, a marvel.
The conditions being optimal, Stéphane takes us for a walk. We pass over a ravine where we have the impression of flying over an ocean of vegetation. After, we take the direction of the botanical conservatory and its pretty chapel that we bypass from above, just magical!
We see in front of us the immensity of the Indian Ocean where we can distinguish all the nuances and the relief with this aerial perspective.
50 shades of blue
It’s the highlight of the flight… the flight over the coast of St-Leu.
From this height, we have a panoramic view of the Pointe de 3 Bassins to that of Pointe au Sel, as much to tell you that it is difficult to do better in terms of landscape!
We see in front of us the immensity of the Indian Ocean where we can distinguish all the nuances and the relief with this aerial perspective.
And we take our time above the ocean, especially since it’s whale season and with a bit of luck, we can see some from our paraglider! When we tell you it’s Intense Island!
We fly over the surf spot of “La Tortue” where a nice swell breaks. There are already quite a few surfers in the water and seen from above, the show is magical.
We pass over the basins of Kelonia where we can see the sea turtles collected by the center.
Between the ravines, the chapel, the cane fields in bloom, the ocean and now the turtles, we can say that we are far from being on a flight that leaves you indifferent!
Terminus, everyone get off!
After about half an hour in the air, we now begin our descent with a view to landing on Kelonia beach, where we met this morning.
After dominating the ground where everything seemed tiny, buildings, cars, people are starting to return to normal size.
We make a final U-turn above the landing zone to land right at the desired location, knowing that the previous flights are already on the ground, folding their sails. Stéphane gives me the last instructions before we put our feet back on the ground.
You have to sit well in the harness, raise your legs and get up once you have dismounted.
For the high class, we’ll come back… but it has the merit of being mega-comfortable for me!
Stéphane releases me and directs me to a small shaded area off the side of the landing area while he takes care of the meticulous task of folding the canopy so that it can fit back into its bag.
Ground Stop
Once landed, everyone gathers in the after-flight area, a small shaded area, more pleasant for folding up and storing equipment.
It is also here that the various instructors come to debrief on the flights, share a small coffee (which you can also enjoy, someone sells it on site) but above all, this is where you can recover your photos.
Indeed, a dedicated photographer collects photos from monitors during the flight, but also takes photos of you when you land.
Small surprise at the end, we are given a small diploma attesting to our flight of the day and our ability to fly like a “paille en queue”.
It will make us a small memory in addition to all those that will remain in our memory after this superb paragliding flight in Reunion.
It’s up to you to take flight now!
Practical Info, paragliding reunion:
For this Zarlor “Paragliding baptism” in St-Leu, count between 2h30 and 3H30 depending on the conditions which will determine your flight duration which can vary between 15 minutes and an hour!
The price is 93€ per person and unless otherwise indicated, everyone can fly from the age of 4!
For your flight, remember to take something to cover yourself with, it can get cold quickly up there. Glasses and sunscreen can be a good addition if you take off with the sun.
You can enjoy your flight 100% and have the instructors take pictures for you for a few extra euros. But you can also very well use your own equipment to take your shots.
For all the details on the outing and to book your Zarlor “Paragliding Baptism”, it’s on the West Tourist Office website.
You don’t need anything in particular but the beach and 2 steps away. So do not hesitate to take swimsuit and towel. Namely, the swimming pool is not accessible with the Zarlor it remains only open to hotel guests.
And to find all our activities in Reunion, it’s this way !
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