off the beaten path - Paragliding in Kenya

Elgeyo Marakwet county is not only renowned for producing internationally acclaimed record-breaking athletes. This county is now home to a new sport that is gaining popularity by the day along the magnificent Kerio Valley escarpment at the fringes of the Great Rift Valley. The Keiyo athletes’ dexterity has often been attributed to rigorous training in Iten town, thanks to the high altitude and undulating hills which adorn the countywhich has continued to attract athletes from far and wide.
Some of the globe-trotting record-shattering athletes from this county who have become households name at home and internationally include Ezekiel Kemboi, Vivian Cheruiyot, Wilson Kipsang, Edna Kiplagat, Sylvia Kibet, Nancy Jebet Lagat and Kenyan-born Dutch athlete Lorna Kiplagat. The new sport is airborne unlike athletics that is ground-based. It is called paragliding. As the name suggests, paragliding is a sport where participants run for a few metres down the scenic cliffs of the Kerio Valley escarpment with parachute-like apparatus strapped on their backs.
The gliders’ apparatus are wind-propelled and they open as they run down the precipitous cliffs and once the parachutes open up, the gliders start their fabulous aerial expedition in the vast windy Kerio Valley. The exhilarating sport has for the past few years attracted many paragliders mainly from European countries like Germany, Italy, Spain, France and Switzerland. Paragliding is a common event in these Alpine countries.
The Kerio Valley escarpment is similar to the scenic rolling mountains of these European countries. That is why the paragliders have chosen this region for the new sport. Paragliding is a recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft. The pilot sits in harness suspended below a hollow fabric wing whose shape is that of a parachute.
- See more at: http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/article-23754/paragliding-new-sport-elgeyo-marakwet-county#sthash.2GIshXbr.dpuf

Elgeyo Marakwet county is not only renowned for producing internationally acclaimed record-breaking athletes. This county is now home to a new sport that is gaining popularity by the day along the magnificent Kerio Valley escarpment at the fringes of the Great Rift Valley. The Keiyo athletes’ dexterity has often been attributed to rigorous training in Iten town, thanks to the high altitude and undulating hills which adorn the countywhich has continued to attract athletes from far and wide.
Some of the globe-trotting record-shattering athletes from this county who have become households name at home and internationally include Ezekiel Kemboi, Vivian Cheruiyot, Wilson Kipsang, Edna Kiplagat, Sylvia Kibet, Nancy Jebet Lagat and Kenyan-born Dutch athlete Lorna Kiplagat. The new sport is airborne unlike athletics that is ground-based. It is called paragliding. As the name suggests, paragliding is a sport where participants run for a few metres down the scenic cliffs of the Kerio Valley escarpment with parachute-like apparatus strapped on their backs.
The gliders’ apparatus are wind-propelled and they open as they run down the precipitous cliffs and once the parachutes open up, the gliders start their fabulous aerial expedition in the vast windy Kerio Valley. The exhilarating sport has for the past few years attracted many paragliders mainly from European countries like Germany, Italy, Spain, France and Switzerland. Paragliding is a common event in these Alpine countries.
The Kerio Valley escarpment is similar to the scenic rolling mountains of these European countries. That is why the paragliders have chosen this region for the new sport. Paragliding is a recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft. The pilot sits in harness suspended below a hollow fabric wing whose shape is that of a parachute.
- See more at: http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/article-23754/paragliding-new-sport-elgeyo-marakwet-county#sthash.2GIshXbr.dpuf

Elgeyo Marakwet county is not only renowned for producing internationally acclaimed record-breaking athletes, this county is now home to a new sport that is gaining popularity by the day.

The Keiyo athletes’ dexterity has often been attributed to rigorous training in Iten town, thanks to the high altitude and undulating hills which adorn the county which has continued to attract athletes from far and wide.


The new sport is airborne unlike athletics that is ground-based. It is called paragliding. Paragliding is a new sport that has been introduced in Kenya. It entails participants running for a few meters down the scenic cliffs of Kerio Valley escarpment  with a parachute-like equipment strapped on their backs. The glider’s apparatus open as they run down the cliff and since they are wind propelled, the gliders are good to go for the aerial expedition of Kerio Valley.

This sport has attracted a huge number of international gliders mainly from Italy, Spain, France and Switzerland. Paragliding is a common event in the Alpine countries and the fact that Kerio Valley escarpment shares similar scenic rolling mountains, has made it a preferred option  for this sport.Paragliding is a recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft.

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