Where to Paraglide in January: The Places That Fly Most

In January, the paragliding places in Europe that flew most often over the last three years were Árnissa, Central Macedonia, Greece (92% of days), Tenerife - Taucho, Canary Islands, Spain (91% of days) and Dupnitsa, Kyustendil, Bulgaria (88% of days). Further away, each continent's leader was Jiguaní in Cuba, Peñalolén in Chile, Jin Loon 1000 in Taiwan, Citrusdal in South Africa and Tamborine Mountain in Australia. Each figure is the share of January days, from 2023-09 to 2026-08, when at least one launch of the place had a two-hour window a typical EN-B pilot would fly: wind 5–25 km/h from a direction the launch faces (or a calm day with good thermals), gusts under 39 km/h, no rain or storm, and cloud off the launch.

Where to paraglide in Europe in January

#	Place	Where	Flyable days	Launches	Good for
1	Árnissa	🇬🇷 Central Macedonia	92% (about 29 of 31 days)	7	Thermals, Soaring, Cross-country, Hike & fly, Flatland
2	Tenerife - Taucho	🇪🇸 Canary Islands	91% (about 28 of 31 days)	5	Thermals, Soaring, Cross-country, Hike & fly
3	Dupnitsa	🇧🇬 Kyustendil	88% (about 27 of 31 days)	7	Thermals, Soaring, Cross-country, Hike & fly, Winch launch, Flatland
4	Moíres	🇬🇷 Crete	88% (about 27 of 31 days)	7	Thermals, Soaring, Hike & fly
5	Kneževi Vinogradi	🇭🇷 County of Osijek-Baranja	88% (about 27 of 31 days)	3	Thermals, Soaring, Winch launch, Flatland

What January is like at the top two:

• Árnissa: afternoons around 4 °C, rain on 17% of days, storms on 2%, typical wind 7 km/h, thermals topping out near 700 m, 6.6 h of sun.
• Tenerife - Taucho: afternoons around 18 °C, rain on 9% of days, typical wind 11 km/h, thermals topping out near 950 m, 9.9 h of sun.

Where to paraglide in North America in January

#	Place	Where	Flyable days	Launches	Good for
1	Jiguaní	🇨🇺 Granma Province	100% (about 31 of 31 days)	8	Thermals, Soaring, Cross-country, Hike & fly, Flatland
2	Valle de Bravo	🇲🇽 México	100% (about 31 of 31 days)	3	Thermals, Soaring, Cross-country, Hike & fly
3	Guisa	🇨🇺 Granma Province	99% (about 31 of 31 days)	7	Thermals, Soaring, Cross-country, Hike & fly, Flatland
4	Chalchihuapan	🇲🇽 Puebla	99% (about 31 of 31 days)	2	Thermals, Soaring, Cross-country, Hike & fly, Flatland
5	Malinalco	🇲🇽 México	99% (about 31 of 31 days)	2	Thermals, Soaring, Cross-country, Flatland

What January is like at the top two:

• Jiguaní: afternoons around 28 °C, rain on 3% of days, storms on 3%, typical wind 11 km/h, thermals topping out near 1,450 m, 9.5 h of sun.
• Valle de Bravo: afternoons around 19 °C, rain on 2% of days, typical wind 11 km/h, thermals topping out near 1,650 m, 10.1 h of sun.

Where to paraglide in South America in January

#	Place	Where	Flyable days	Launches	Good for
1	Peñalolén	🇨🇱 Santiago Metropolitan	100% (about 31 of 31 days)	5	Thermals, Cross-country
2	Caracas	🇻🇪 Distrito Federal	100% (about 31 of 31 days)	4	Thermals, Soaring, Cross-country, Hike & fly
3	Iquique	🇨🇱 Tarapacá	100% (about 31 of 31 days)	4	Thermals, Soaring
4	Caçapava do Sul	🇧🇷 Rio Grande do Sul	100% (about 31 of 31 days)	3	Thermals, Soaring, Hike & fly, Flatland
5	Puerto La Cruz	🇻🇪 Anzoátegui	100% (about 31 of 31 days)	3	Soaring, Cross-country

What January is like at the top two:

• Peñalolén: afternoons around 24 °C, rain on 1% of days, storms on 2%, typical wind 13 km/h, thermals topping out near 1,800 m, 13.7 h of sun.
• Caracas: afternoons around 27 °C, rain on 32% of days, storms on 12%, typical wind 12 km/h, thermals topping out near 700 m, 11 h of sun.

Where to paraglide in Asia in January

#	Place	Where	Flyable days	Launches	Good for
1	Jin Loon 1000	🇹🇼 Taiwan	100% (about 31 of 31 days)	7	Thermals, Soaring, Cross-country, Hike & fly, Flatland
2	Virār	🇮🇳 Maharashtra	100% (about 31 of 31 days)	6	Thermals, Soaring, Cross-country, Hike & fly, Winch launch, Flatland
3	Cha Ding	🇹🇼 Taiwan	100% (about 31 of 31 days)	5	Thermals, Soaring, Cross-country, Hike & fly, Flatland
4	Khadkale	🇮🇳 Maharashtra	100% (about 31 of 31 days)	5	Thermals, Soaring, Cross-country, Hike & fly, Flatland
5	Abha	🇸🇦 'Asir Region	100% (about 31 of 31 days)	3	Thermals, Soaring

What January is like at the top two:

• Jin Loon 1000: afternoons around 14 °C, rain on 22% of days, typical wind 11 km/h, thermals topping out near 550 m, 7.9 h of sun.
• Virār: afternoons around 31 °C, rain on 0% of days, typical wind 9 km/h, thermals topping out near 2,100 m, 10.6 h of sun.

Where to paraglide in Africa in January

#	Place	Where	Flyable days	Launches	Good for
1	Citrusdal	🇿🇦 Western Cape	100% (about 31 of 31 days)	5	Thermals, Soaring, Cross-country, Flatland
2	Butajīra	🇪🇹 Central Ethiopia Regional State	100% (about 31 of 31 days)	2	Thermals, Cross-country, Flatland
3	Debre Sīna	🇪🇹 Amhara	100% (about 31 of 31 days)	2	Thermals, Cross-country
4	Kuruman	🇿🇦 Northern Cape	100% (about 31 of 31 days)	2	not recorded
5	Lalibela	🇪🇹 Amhara	100% (about 31 of 31 days)	2	Thermals, Soaring

What January is like at the top two:

• Citrusdal: afternoons around 30 °C, rain on 0% of days, typical wind 12 km/h, thermals topping out near 2,350 m, 13.5 h of sun.
• Butajīra: afternoons around 17 °C, rain on 3% of days, typical wind 12 km/h, thermals topping out near 1,750 m, 10.9 h of sun.

Where to paraglide in Oceania in January

#	Place	Where	Flyable days	Launches	Good for
1	Tamborine Mountain	🇦🇺 Queensland	96% (about 30 of 31 days)	3	Thermals, Soaring, Cross-country, Hike & fly, Flatland
2	Kuendu Beach	🇳🇨 South Province	94% (about 29 of 31 days)	4	Thermals, Soaring
3	York	🇦🇺 Western Australia	94% (about 29 of 31 days)	3	Thermals, Soaring, Flatland
4	Helidon	🇦🇺 Queensland	92% (about 29 of 31 days)	2	Thermals, Soaring
5	Manilla	🇦🇺 New South Wales	91% (about 28 of 31 days)	3	Thermals, Soaring, Cross-country, Hike & fly, Flatland

What January is like at the top two:

• Tamborine Mountain: afternoons around 25 °C, rain on 17% of days, storms on 4%, typical wind 12 km/h, thermals topping out near 1,250 m, 11.1 h of sun.
• Kuendu Beach: afternoons around 28 °C, rain on 24% of days, storms on 10%, typical wind 15 km/h, thermals topping out near 1,200 m, 11 h of sun.

How this is measured

Every launch in the OutDare map is judged hour by hour against the weather model's history at that spot: wind at the ground and at launch height, gusts, rain and thunderstorms, low cloud and the thermal ceiling. Places group the launches you would choose between on a trip, and a place flies on a day when any of its launches does. Only places with at least 2 launches are listed, and tow-only flatland fields are left out. Your own limits change the answer: the trip planner re-ranks every place for your wind range, and each place opens on the OutDare map for your exact dates.

A seasonal guide from past weather, never a substitute for the live forecast and your own judgement on the day.

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