Postcard from Slovenia: paragliding in the Vipava Valley
In the Slovenian Vipava Valley, life is defined by the wind storm. When conditions are favorable, cold air flows from the Julian Alps to the Adriatic coast, sometimes reaching 150 km per hour. Rocks are laid on roof tiles to prevent them from blowing away, roads are sometimes closed to trucks and buses, even trees have branches on one side only, their flat backs are supported against the wind.
By early summer, however, peace usually prevails and only a warm sea breeze remains. It blows gently through the valley, creating ideal conditions for paragliding, a sport popular among the locals since the 1990s.
Today I am among their ranks, anxiously standing on the ridge, preparing for flight. I am here with guide Jani Peljhan, who leads a “hike-fly-wine” tour that rounds out the perfect arc of the Vipava: start in the town of Ajdovščina at the bottom of the valley, hike to one of the highest cliffs, paragliding to the vineyards on the other side of the valley. land for tasting in the wine cellar.
The hike led us through forests and meadows of wildflowers past a gaping hole in the ridge called Great window, Otlice window. Legend has it that the devil stumbled and his horn broke the mountain, which may have caused the wind to rush.
Our tandem pilots are waiting for us at the top. Tomaž Bavdež fastens me and calms me down with various security checks. Then we are on our feet, strapped together and ready to run. I was expecting some sort of long takeoff run in airplane style, but it’s less than five feet ahead of us before a heavy crash.
Even the run is not as graceful as I imagined. The paraglider pulls us from one side to the other, but we finally feel the lift and the valley rushes below us. I dangle for a few seconds, my legs still paddling in the air, then, at the urging of my pilot, I slide back into my belt. “The best sofa and TV screen in Slovenia,” he says over the wind.
He’s right: when we fly down the ridge, the scenery is dramatic. The shadow of our wing falls over the rocks, a warm breeze lifts us higher and brings the scent of pine trees from the forest. I notice that my muscles are still tense, and I exhale; the experience is actually surprisingly relaxing.
When the cliffs are over, we turn and jump into the valley. The Adriatic appears, foggy in the distance. Tomaž asks if I want to try to control with the brake handles located on both sides above our shoulders. I take them carefully and look up, my eyes followed by a tangle of suspension lines stretching to the upper wing, each fluttering slightly in the wind.
The vineyards are getting closer, as are the roofs of the village of Budanje and its small church tower. In the end, we slide along them and touch the ground with our feet. The skirt gently folds behind us and I unbuckle and sway, completely blissful. The feeling is that one would get stuck easily; really Tomaž tells me about a former heroin addict who cleared himself by flying.
After packing the set, we head to the nearby cellar of the young winemaker Urban Petrič, who runs one of the hundred boutique cellars in the Vipava Valley. The bora actually helps the vines in our country, explains Petrič, who prevents fungal diseases and eliminates the need for chemical sprays. Upstairs, he also treats hams dried by the bora through open windows.
It takes us down to its basement for a taste, and the cool air eases our windy faces. Let’s try his white wines, from grape celery, malvasia and pinela. The wind also affects the taste, they say that in combination with the mineral-rich soil it creates a taste typical of Vipava, which Slovenians call butterbut oily. For me, they have a floral and stunning taste, but this may be due to my climax after the flight.
“Despite the problems, we like the bora,” says Petrič. “It simply came to our notice then. The air is fresh and the food and wine are special. ” And paragliding, which is far from an adrenaline sport, is a way to rest when the wind dies down – a moment of calm during each storm.
Details
Camilla Bell-Davies was a guest of Wajdusn Jani Peljhan (wajdusna.com), which offers a hiking and wine tour from 185 €, and Pension Sinji Vrh (sinji-vrh.si), a guesthouse on the top of the mountain above Ajdovščina with half board from 55 € per night
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