Calabria seen from above: hot air ballooning, paragliding and hang gliding

Have you ever thought about the fascination of admiring a place from above? Are you a fan of adrenaline-fuelled flights? Are you thinking of giving your partner or your children the experience of a hot-air balloon flight?

You can do all this in Calabria! Calabria seen from above is a unique emotion: a land lying between two seas, which you can fly over at the water's edge, with a green heart of dense forests and small historic centres nestled along the mountain slopes.

Find out where to fly in Calabria, from north to south, depending on your tastes and your personal relationship with air sports.

If your childhood dream or the thrill you want to give your children or partner is a hot-air balloon flight, know that Calabria offers several possibilities for a safe balloon ride.

From Cosenza and its province, you can soar over the natural wonders of the Sila National Park, admiring Calabria's green lung from above, with a view that stretches as far as the Tyrrhenian coast, with the romantic experience of a hot-air balloon sunset.

Also in the province of Cosenza, on the Ionian side, it is possible to fly in a hot-air balloon over the Sibaritide, between the municipalities of Cassano all'Ionio and Corigliano-Rossano. Here the scenery changes, since starting early in the morning it is possible to experience the opposite emotion: sunrise in a hot-air balloon and the first rays of the sun caressing the sea.

From above, one can appreciate the cultivated fields of the Sibari Plain, with the rice fields where the prized Sibari Rice is produced, and the extension of the Sibaritide National Archaeological Park, as well as the area of the artificial lakes.

If you want to try more adrenalin-pumping air sports, we suggest a nice paragliding and hang-gliding flight in Calabria. Don't worry, the activity is also practicable by simple enthusiasts and the curious who are approaching it for the first time, since it always takes place in the company of an expert pilot (unless you are already a veteran athlete of these sports).

Where to get the "baptism of the air" in Calabria? Starting from the north, on the Tyrrhenian Sea, you will enjoy the experience of admiring the Riviera dei Cedri from the heights of a paraglider in Praia a Mare, flying over the picturesque Dino Island (one of two small Calabrian islands), a protected natural paradise.

Equally exciting will be admiring from above the cliffs of Capo Vaticano and the entire Costa degli Dei seen from paragliding in Pizzo Calabro, in the province of Vibo Valentia.

You can take a tourist hang-gliding flight in Badolato Marina, in the province of Catanzaro. Aboard a two-seater engine, you will fly over the Ionian Riviera known as the Costa dei Gelsomini and the nearby hinterland, characterised by the forests of the Serre Regional Park and small medieval villages perched on the hills.

Reggio Calabria and its province are no less impressive. Very suggestive, for example, is the hang-gliding flight over the Aspromonte National Park to enjoy the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas together in a single glance, as well as the view from above of the gigantic rocky monoliths that characterise the UNESCO World Heritage Geosites.

After admiring Calabria from above, it will be just as pleasant to get your feet back on the ground and follow the tourist itineraries closest to the flying areas, which, as we have seen, almost always intercept areas of beautiful landscape and nature.

Sport flying in Calabria makes the most of one of the area's special features: the proximity of sea and mountains. This is why it is possible to purchase "flight packages" that also combine nearby excursion and trekking activities, visits to historical centres and even typical food and wine tastings.

The perfect combination is an excursion to one of the Calabrian National Parks around which the flight takes place, Sila and Aspromonte. Alternatively, the more active can imagine unbuckling and diving straight into mere for a dive, snorkelling or a leisurely boat trip along the same coastline admired from above.