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Step into paragliding with our IPPI 2 - Elementary Pilot Course, designed for complete beginners who want to experience the thrill of flying safely and confidently. Over six days, you’ll learn the fundamentals of paragliding through tandem flights, ground handling exercises, and supervised solo flights, all under the guidance of experienced instructors. This course is ideal for anyone ready to take their first steps into the sky while enjoying the favourable conditions of southern Spain.
The course begins with tandem flights, giving you the chance to take control of a dual paraglider under the supervision of an instructor. This approach allows you to get a feel for the glider from a high vantage point while remaining fully supported. Alongside these flights, daily theory lessons cover essential aspects of paragliding, including aerodynamics, meteorology, and safety procedures.
Ground handling exercises are incorporated early on to build confidence in launches and landings. After progressing through tandem flights and ground handling, you’ll be ready for supervised solo flights. Radio support ensures you have guidance at all times while you develop control, decision-making skills, and confidence in solo flight. The combination of theory and practice maximises learning efficiency, helping you gain internationally recognised certification by the end of the week.
The course takes place in Algodonales, southern Spain, a town known for its reliable thermals, gentle winds, and excellent year-round flying conditions. The surrounding mountains and valleys provide ideal launch and landing areas, giving beginners a safe and varied environment to practise. The town itself is welcoming, with cafés, restaurants, and shops within walking distance, allowing for relaxation and cultural immersion between flights.
Algodonales’ climate ensures that you can enjoy flying even in cooler months, with temperatures often around 18–20ºC. Travel Accident Insurance with full rescue and repatriation cover is recommended, and EU citizens should carry their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) for access to reduced-cost or free medical treatment. Liability and basic sanitary insurance, including repatriation, is provided for all students. In case of three or more days of poor weather, credit is offered for a future booking to ensure you complete your certification.
Participants must be over 16 years of age and weigh less than 120 kg. All briefings and lessons are conducted in English or Spanish, so a basic understanding of one of these languages is required.
While not mandatory, Travel Accident Insurance with full rescue and repatriation cover is strongly recommended. EU citizens should bring their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) for potentially free or reduced-cost medical treatment while in Spain.
Accommodation can be arranged for one person in a shared, self-catered apartment for 7 nights, but it is not included in the course price. Properties are centrally located in Algodonales, a short walk from the paragliding school and main square, offering easy access to cafés, restaurants, and shops. Apartments are chosen to provide a comfortable, home-like environment for resting and relaxing after flights.
Each property is equipped with high-speed WiFi, comfortable beds, towels, and a fully equipped kitchen for preparing meals or snacks. If travelling with companions, additional rooms can be arranged so everyone is comfortably accommodated. Booking accommodation separately allows you flexibility while keeping you close to both the school and local amenities.
The IPPI 2 course offers a structured and supportive approach to learning paragliding, combining tandem flights, ground handling, and solo practice with professional instruction. Small groups ensure personalised attention, while expert instructors guide every step of the learning process.
Flights are monitored via GPS for safety and retrieval, and liability and basic sanitary insurance, including repatriation, is provided. If weather prevents flying for three or more days, credit is offered for a future booking. The school is accredited by FAI, RFAE, APPI, and BHPA, providing internationally recognised certification and a high standard of teaching.
Because we have the best climate conditions for paragliding the whole year round, even in autumn and winter while the rest of Europe is frozen we can fly great thermals at 18-20ºC. And not only will you be flying but you will be enjoying the culture and the real people of Spain. In southern Spain, we can paraglide all year round!
During winter, the flights are particularly calm, it is not too cold and there are smooth thermals. It could rain, but generally not too many consecutive days. In the Spring and early Autumn, the thermals offer especially high and long flights, the landscape becomes beautiful and the temperature is perfect. In summer it is hot!... but the conditions are not too strong to fly, especially in the morning, and we can enjoy smooth flights during the long evenings until sunset.
The mountains around Algodonales are one of the best paragliding spots in southern Spain and one of the most popular in Europe. During the spring it is a great thermal site and has good cross-country potential, even for your first XC flight. But it is also an easy place for beginners, full of big landing areas. The coast is just one hour away and offers two other easy coastal flying sites above sand dunes.
All are welcome. Algodonales is a beautiful area. There is so much to do to keep everyone busy while you are flying. From horse riding to kitesurfing, picnics to canoeing and exploring the beautiful white hillside villages of Andalucia, everything is out there to do and explore. We can also organise tandem flight for non-flyers. They will need a car because we cannot guarantee a place for them in our vehicle.
Despite Algodonales not being a big town, you will find all you need for a comfortable holiday: there are supermarkets, local shops, several banks with cash machines, pharmacies and a health centre.
The village is full of restaurants and cafes, and they are open from early morning to midnight: you cannot miss tasting the fantastic local food and tapas at low prices: coffee or beer from 1.2€, tapas from 2€ and a daily menu for only 8-10€.
Algodonales is also ideally situated for visiting the surrounding great cities and sights of interest such as Ronda, Grazalema, Sevilla, Granada, Cordoba, Cadiz, Jerez de la Frontera, Costa de la Luz and Costa del Sol.
If you come by plane, the nearest airports to Algodonales are Malaga, Sevilla, and also Jerez.
The dates of your booking are starting and finishing dates. You should arrive on the day before the starting date, at any time, and depart on the day after the finishing date.
i.e. If your reservation is Sept 22th - Sept 27th you should arrive on the 21st. We start on the 22nd morning and finish on the 27th evening. You must check-out on the 28th.
We provide airport transfer only from/to Malaga airport - we do not have a shuttle service to Sevilla or Jerez Airports - on the set travel dates, normally on Saturdays. We require a minimum of 3 people booked to run the shuttle.
The shuttle service departs from Malaga airport on the arrival date (the day before the starting date, normally on Saturdays) at 13:00 h, and arrives at Algodonales approx. at 15:00 h.
On the check-out day (the day after the finishing date, normally on Saturdays) the shuttle departs from Algodonales approx. at 10:00 h and arrives at Malaga airport at approx. 12:00 h.
Please keep this time in mind when you book your flights.
If you need to use our shuttle, please notice that it is absolutely necessary that you book a place online at least 72 hours in advance to guarantee you have a seat in the minibus.
You can add this as extra on the booking form.
If you cannot take our airport shuttle service then you can try another way to get here:
Breakfasts and other meals are not included in the prices.
Accommodation is booked separately (not included).
Restaurants and shops at Algodonales are really cheap; for example, a coffee costs 1,20€, a beer 1,5-2€, a breakfast by 2,5€, a dinner by 10€. The accommodation has a shared kitchen with all facilities, so you can also cook your own food if you wish.
Our paragliding school is recognised by several associations and federations (APPI, BHPA, FAI, RFAE). This means that you will qualify for a paragliding license with them upon completing your course with us. The fee to join any of these organizations are not included in the price of the course. Joining a federation is not mandatory.
Paragliding is a weather-dependent activity so we have to be flexible when making plans. We try to seize the time to optimize the training practices, but on a normal day you can expect the following plan:
Pack adequate comfortable clothing: warm clothes if your course is in winter. You will need a jacket in spring; it can be cold at the top of a mountain. Bring walking boots (ideally with ankle support), a sun hat, sun cream, sunglasses and also a swimming costume as there is a lake that you can canoe or swim.
For students enrolled in a beginner's course, a long-sleeved t-shirt is a good idea for ground-handling practice. Long pants will avoid scratches on your legs.
We provide towels in our accommodation.
Bring your reusable bottle and help reduce single-use plastic. There are good water fountains here and you can also refill your bottle from the tap.
Only the students signed up in any of our beginner's courses have a basic accident and third-party insurance included in the price. Either way, buying your own accident and travel insurance is recommended.
Qualified pilots signed up for holidays or tours should have their own accident insurance, full rescue/repatriation cover – specific to paragliding.
For members of the EU, the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) entitles you to reduced-cost, sometimes free, medical treatment that becomes necessary while you’re in a European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland.
You can be sure that we never give up! If the weather is bad in our area, we are going to move to a different one, with better weather. There are more than ten different flying spots in a radius of 150 km around Algodonales, at the coast or inland.
The bad weather days can be also used for ground-handling practices or for theory lessons, and not only for the students but also we organise masterclasses for more experienced pilots.
If some tasks of a course are not completed, because of bad weather, it is possible to complete these on a different day.
Some people prefer to stay in the area for a few more days so they have more chances to complete the course or to fly and to do tourist activities.
In the very unlikely event that, due to bad weather, we have to cancel some days during a weekly course or tour, we will give you credit that will be discounted from the price of your next booking with us.
In the rare event of bad weather and the inability to fly, we have some alternative activities to keep you entertained:
You don’t. We provide transport to and from our flying sites. But if you want, you can hire a car for visiting the surrounding areas, for your non-flying companions, or if you cannot take our airport shuttle.
Our shop is fully stocked with all the equipment you may wish to purchase for flying and all at good Spanish prices. If you are interested in buying a glider, please contact us in advance as it takes time to get your equipment in.
It’s not so much about how old you are, it is more about your general level of fitness and health.
Although no medical examinations are officially required to learn to paraglide, you should be in generally good health. You should be fit and active and have good coordination. You must be able to run for around 5-15 meters on take-off and landing and you could be walking up hills carrying a 15-20kg rucksack full of paragliding equipment.
If you suffer from any medical conditions such as epilepsy, heart conditions, osteoporosis or diabetes you should ask your doctor’s advice before taking part in a paragliding course.
Your maximum weight must be 120kg.
About the centre
Calle Ronda, 10
Operated by Zero Gravity Paragliding, a partner of adventuro.
