Paragliding and Hang gliding in Porterville

Porterville is Cape Town's premier xc site. Hardy scrub covers the dry and rocky mountain range. In summer, the fields below are barren browns and blacks, having yielded their grains to the yearly harvest.

Ground temperatures can soar well into the thirties (ºC) causing good thermal activity and healthy height gains. The front ridge offers a good start to big Cross-country flying. The Cederberg Range which towers behind the front ridge has only recently been explored by paragliders, and then only very tentatively. It is a dry and dusty environment on the ground, but once airborne you'll appreciate the beauty of the land. Wild, untamed mountains. Plains stretching out from the foothills to the western horizon. Hidden, inaccessible valleys (stay high!) Blue skies above. Unlimited landing areas out in the flatlands. And thermals that leave you with no doubt that they are going UP.

You can almost be guaranteed flying here between November and March (averages at 4 good days in 7). If you are proficient at thermalling, 20km xc is an easy goal. In winter (June - Sept), just after a cold front has passed, some gentle thermic conditions are found over a much greener Porterville valley.