Launch (S 20°23’0”, W 70°09’0”) 297 m
Landing Zone Same
Palo Buque is the easiest place in the world to achieve the most ancient of human dreams- to spread our arms and fly into the sky on a whim. On a good day, all that’s necessary to get airborne from flat ground is to set up the equipment, kite the wing a little ways up a small hill- and you’re up in the air. This is truly a magical place for paraglider pilots
The site lies about fifteen minutes driving South of Iquique. From the road it doesn’t look like anything special and there are no facilities of any kind nearby the site, but once in the air it is an other-wordly place. It is possible to gain 800-900 meters of elevation within several minutes of launch on a good day, and you may find it at times a challenge to descend as quickly as you’d like. Cross country-flights following the coastal range may also begin from here. Winds are generally from the Southwest.
For more information on the necessary permissions needed for cross-country flights in the area, contact Altazor.
I highly recommend having your risers already clipped in to your harness before arriving at this site. There is no sheltered, protected area of any kind to lay out equipment. In my first visit here I struggled like a newbie for nearly an hour with my equipment tangling and dragging across the sand and the rocks. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Notes on Launch:
Set up your equipment either at the bottom of or part way up the small (appx. 50 m) South-facing hill at the site. (How high you’ll need to set up your equipment depends on wind speed, start lower down in higher winds). Kite your wing up to the point where you are feeling lift, and launch. Begin by making ridge-soaring passes until you are above the small hill, then use the much larger, smooth slope to the East connected to the hill to continue climbing. Watch out for the Venturi effect in the corner where the small hill connects to the mountain slope.
Palo Buque is a world-famous site and sometimes a popular place, but there is plenty of room for all. If you happen to arrive on a day where thirty Argentinian or French or Russian pilots are all jockeying for a place, just be patient and you’ll have all the space you need momentarily.
Notes on Landing Zone:
You should be able to land right next to where you parked without issue. If you land far away, the highway parallels the coast and you should be able to hitch a ride.
Flyable days per year: Nearly all of them, so they tell me.
Best times of the day: When I was there in March the best times were later in the day, after 3:00 or 4:00 p.m. until sundown-
Cost: No launch fees.
How to get there: No public transportation is available to Palo Buque. Altazor rents vans for the trip to Palo Buque at 15.00 COP (appx. 30$ U.S.). Split amongst five or six people it is quite reasonable. Or, you can try your luck at hitch-hiking.
If you’re going it on your own, head South from Iquique along the coast for about 15-20 minutes driving time. Appx. 1 km. past the Punta Gruesa turn off, several dirt roads turn off to the left (you will see a small cemetary on the right just before) and all lead to the small lump up against the mountain about 1 km. away that will be your launch site. If you have a GPS, use the coordinates to have an idea of where to get off.
Website: www.altazor.cl
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