Location : Arambol, Goa
Best time for gliding : October to June
Best Suitable for : Beginners for TTB and for Tandem flights
Facilities : Training for certified courses and Tandem flights

Arambol a small remote fishing village in Goa, lies 50kms from Panaji. The place has two beaches, more popular is the main beach (Harmal beach), the northernmost beach in Goa with clean sand, some bays and fresh water pools good for swimming. The beach is beautiful and the village is quiet and friendly, with just a few hundred locals mostly fishing people. The rocky headland or the cliffs near the beaches are popular for paragliding. The second, more picturesque beach lies beyond the rocky headband and can only be reached on foot and is bordered by steep cliffs on both sides.

Arambol is popular as the best gliding site in Goa. Other sites include Anjuna, Vagator etc. Arambol is best for beginners with its regular, smooth and steady sea breeze perfect for easy, no break flying. The site has ridges which are flyable in North-Westerly winds as well as South Westerly winds. The winds set in by late morning right through the flying season from October to June and some days its possible to fly all day- at least 5-6 hours till sunset. There are three take off sites depending on the wind direction- 'Om' rock face is flyable in the South West direction, Kerry take off and the 1km long ridge to the right of the sweet water lake is flyable in the West to North West winds. The ridge is about 100 ft high and is normally used by beginners for top to bottom (TTB) flights and landings are usually on the beach in front of the lake.

The problem with beach landing is the accumulation of sand inside the glider which tends to reduce glider life and make it difficult to pack the glider. Because of the strong, steady wind in Arambol, reverse launches are preferable and pilots should have the necessary ground handling skills for successful inflation and takeoff. Top landing is also possible from the site and tree landings are common. Check out the top landing area before itself and watch out for large rocks.

There are facilities available for training and tandem (accompanied flights at about Rs.900/flight ) rides using imported paragliders, from Arambol. Equipment also available on hire for qualified tourists from the Relax Inn on the beach.

Accommodation
Most of the accommodation is basic, in simple houses in the woods behind the beach. Majority are bare huts but some have fully equipped kitchens and showers. Long stay visitors should either bring their own bedding and cooking stuff or kit themselves out at Mapusa Market. There are restaurants, travel agencies (handling foreign exchange), Internet and other services along the road leading to the northern end of the beach and a few stores in the village.

How to get there
Air : Goa's international airport, Dabolim, is 29 km from the capital Panaji. Indian Airlines has direct flights from Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai daily.

Rail : Goa's two main stations are at Margao and Vasco da Gama. Vasco-da-Gama and Margoa are connected by train with Bangalore, Belgaum, Hospet and Hyderabad and via Miraj to Bombay, Delhi and Agra.

Road : Goa is well connected by NH17A with Maharashtra and Karnataka state. There are regular bus services to Mumbai, Bangalore, Hampi and other destinations from the Kadamba bus stand at Panaji. There are buses available to and fro between Panjim and Arambol every thirty minutes until noon, and every ninety minutes thereafter and between Mapusa and Arambol which takes three hours. The bus stand here is on the main road. There is a faster private minibus service from Panjim daily with a stop opposite to the tea stalls at the beach end of the village. From the main road, there is a bumpy side road which leads 1km to the village, past a large school and a church. The main beach is 200m further to the north of the village.

Contacts

Tourist Information Counter, Interstate Bus Terminus, Panaji. Tel : 225620.
Goa Tourism Development Corporation Ltd
Trionora Apartments, Dr. Alvares Costa Road, Panaji. Tel : 226515, 224132, 226728. Grams : GOA TOURISM, Telex - 194-334 TDC IN. Fax : (832) 223926. Ponda : 314524.
For Training and Tandem Rides off the coast of Arambol
Contact :
Mr. Jitendra Deshprabhu
Cunha Rivara Road, Panaji, Goa - 403 001.
Tel.: (0832) 221840 Fax: (0832) 225763.
E-mail: Contact Us