Estación de Vuelo Libre de El Zarzalón (Berja)

“El Zarzalón” flying site is located in the municipality of Berja, in the western foothills of the Sierra de Gádor range. This area has excellent geographical and climate conditions, which allows the different flight sports to be practised all year round: paragliding, hang gliding and powered paragliding; there are also exceptional views of the Sierra Nevada, the Eastern Alpujarra and the Mediterranean Sea itself.

The Sierra de Gádor mountains, and particularly Berja, offer a unique range of plants and animals that, together with its rich historical heritage (mainly related to its mining history, although there is much more than just this), make this area a very attractive destination. As well as the various flight options, other outdoor sports, like trekking and climbing, are possible here. Between the launch and landing sites we find a space registered as a “Periurban Park”, this particular one is “Castala”, and as well as its ecological interest, it offers a number of leisure sites: children's play park, barbecue, swimming pool, bar-restaurant.

Climate

Its latitude means that the influence of tropical high pressure in summer alternates with depressions linked to the polar front in winter, although anticyclonic patterns predominate. The high ground that surrounds it acts as a topographical shelter, screening the area from the Atlantic sea air masses that are responsible for most precipitation in other Andalusian areas. What is present, then, is a very diverse mosaic of vegetation and landscape, as is to be expected in a municipality that rises quickly from sea level to an altitude of almost 2,000 m.

The presence of dynamic, thermal hillsides makes this flying site one of the most attractive in Andalusia. Perhaps winter is the best time for flying here, since the high mountains protect the site from cold north winds, and this is the time when the Mediterranean offers its most pleasant temperatures.