Paragliding has become an option for adventure tourism, which allows you to discover the aerial paradise that Costa Rica offers. Jean Claude, founder of Nemaclys Parapente, is a Swiss adventurer who decided to tour Latin America on a motorcycle in the 90s. During his time in Costa Rica he had a landscaping project and after falling in love with a Costa Rican he stayed and created his own company.
His idea arose to offer tourists a quality and innovative product, so with his adventurous spirit he installed paragliding in the country. Two decades ago it was a little-known proposal and a risky sport that nobody practiced in the country. His knowledge benefited him, since in his country he flew paragliders.
“Costa Rica is very rich visually and in nature, it is a way to offer a different view of the sea (…) Here we fly with peace, without motor, without noise, without pollution, we do not harm nature and we fly with the birds. Tourism leaves with a unique and beautiful feeling, because we are distributing happiness in the air”, said Claude.
Audiovisual series Héroes Turísticos
Claude is part of the audiovisual series Héroes Turísticos, promoted by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) to show the human side of those who work every day to provide the best offer of tourist services.
The project chose seven people who have dedicated their lives, skills, time and passion to the development and innovation of tourism in Costa Rica. From paragliding, to canopying in the Monteverde cloud forest or hiking in Chirripó, the highest mountain in the country.
“Through these stories we are going to know the importance of values such as friendship, resilience, the value of living in the present and having the ability to be dazzled by the natural beauties of our country and fight to make our dreams come true,” said the Minister of Tourism, Gustavo Segura.
Welcome To The World Of Birds
Paragliding allows you to discover the aerial paradise that Costa Rica offers. Located in the province of Puntarenas, in the Central Pacific, Nemaclys allows you to observe from the sea that merges with the blue of the sky to its exuberant wooded part that stands out for its radiant green color.
The paraglider has an aerodynamic capacity, since its fabric acts like a sail, which enables it to fly while gliding thanks to the impulse of the wind. According to the expert Claude, Costa Rica has characteristics that make it perfect for being a “true paradise for flying.”
“It depends 100% on nature, having the privilege of being close to the sea, so the breeze, which blows practically every day, is what hits the cliffs and causes an ascent, with that we can fly and stay in the air. Being privileged because we can fly 300 days a year, it is an ideal place”, highlighted Claude.
The Swiss assured that when he arrived in Costa Rica his intention was this, but that he contributed a new activity, and sowed that seed in the field of adventure. Currently, there are about 80 pilots and several companies that offer this service in different parts of the country.
Incorporating the beauty and the feeling of adventure
“We brought a new activity to the country, what I did was sow a seed in this area and, thank God, that seed bore fruit. It was a new adventure back then and it grew, and in the end it is very ideal for this beautiful country because it incorporates the beauty and the feeling of adventure that it offers,” said Claude.
On the way to get to the paraglider, the tour also allows you to observe a great variety of flora and fauna, especially a stop at the Tárcoles River, in which one of its main attractions is the observation of crocodiles, a way to complete this adventure wild.
The series is a way for the ICT to promote the economic and tourist reactivation of the country after the health crisis of Covid-19, since tourism is one of the main engines of the economy of Costa Rica, a country that is home to about 5% of the planet’s biodiversity, which is one of its main attractions.
