Valle de Bravo, Mexico
A renowned cross-country paradise
Late October 2022, December 2023
Strong thermic flying
classic xc routes
Flyable every day
Monarch Butterflies
Beautiful lake view
Delicious food
Relatively inexpensive
Spacious launch & Lz
Valle is a special place for hang glider and paraglider pilots alike, with conditions appropriate for beginners in the morning and strengthening for experienced pilots midday.
the Gallery
Few pictures to get a feel for the place. From left to right,
1) I found the lake!
2) my dump truck hitchhike
ride back one day,
3) the famous El Pinon rockface from the piano LZ,
4) Alex & I walking the butterfly sanctuary.
Valle basics
Season-dependent of course!
Trip Cost
$600 RT flight to Mexico City, $40 luxury bus to Valle & back, $20/day cab rides up top + some back, $30/day food, $50/night accommodation
$1,500/ 1 week
Trip duration
I spent 4 days the first year and a week the second. I felt like a week was enough time to explore many of the classic XC flights.
1 week
Season
While Valle is flyable almost every day throughout the year, the conditions are best in November and December for paragliding pilots. January is also good, but quite strong.
December is my favorite!
Pilot Profile
it’s really season-dependent. November/December is appropriate for all levels, getting stronger throughout the time. New pilots may be limited to morning/evening flights.
Appropriate for all levels
the details
Getting there
I scored a great points deal to fly Delta from Atlanta to Mexico City roundtrip with a little planning. Regardless, it’s a pretty easy (although not cheap!) city to reach from the U.S.
From the airport, grab the luxury bus Zina from the city to Valle. It leaves every hour, takes about 5 hours, and is very comfortable, not to mention cheap ($20). You won’t need a car in Valle as you’ll need rides to/from launch either way, and parking can be hard to find close to the center of Valle. The launch is about an hour outside of Valle.
Launch & Logistics
The launch “El Penon” is located about an hour outside of Valle, and it’s easy to get a cab there every morning. There’s another launch in town that pretty much only the tandem pilots use for tourism, you’ll want to go to Penon every day.
It’s big and grassy, with space for maybe 6 gliders to spread out, and fills up with pilots daily. We launched every day around 11 AM and tried to be some of the first pilots off to gain a feel for the thermals before they started getting strong.
The LZ is large and directly below the launch, easy to reach. There’s a big house thermal right on the launch ridge, where most pilots get high and then head to El Penon.
the Flying
It was flyable and good every day I was there during my last time in late Novemeber/ 1st week of December. The thermals get pretty strong as the day goes on, we regularly hit 1000 fpm. We had a newer pilot with us as well who enjoyed morning and evening flights.
I had some of the most memorable flights while I was there!
The first day flying the classic “Divisidero” route and then a low save on my way to the lakeside landing. After that I figured I’d have no problem making it to the lake every day, but that was actually the only day I made it! Gotta have something to go back for, I guess….
The other incredible experience was flying to the Monarch Butterfly preserve. You see, we went right during the time when the butterflies migrate and arrive in Valle to cocoon and winter. Just as I’m wondering how high the butterflies go and just where the heck this sanctuary is, I’m climbing up the side of a cloud at 12,000 ft and one flies right by me !! I lost my sh*t, so cool.
Where we stay & extras
I stayed in town both times, and rented an apartment off Airbnb for the time. I picked places close to the LZ, hoping I’d be making it there every day, which was wishful thinking for me as I landed out almost every day instead. 😉 The second place we picked was very close to the LZ it seemed, but we forgot to account for the hillside that Valle is built into, and had a brutal climb off the main road back up to our house every day.
There’s an amazing taco spot by the church where many pilots go to eat – I still dream of these tacos – we recommend stopping by every morning and then you can carpool with other pilots if you need as well.
Safety Tip for Valle in particular
#1 – The wind speed changes pretty significantly depending on the season and time of day. It’s important to make good choices for you as a pilot!
#2 – Give the terrain the respect it deserves – with strong convergences, there’s also strong rotor. If you take a collapse too close to the terrain, a reminder that you might not have time to recover or even throw a reserve.
Right after my trip, a pilot died by taking a collapse right on top of El Pinon. While the rescue was mounting, the wind picked him up again and slammed him into the mountain many times on the way down. Respect the terrain.