Badung regency is well known for its potential in tourism sector. Some famous beaches or luxurious hotels are located in this regency. The potential ranges from beach into the hills. Apart from those tourism objects potentials, actually there are still a lot of tourist attractions that needs to be developed, especially in the area of South Badung which consists of hills and highlands. On this area air sport such as paragliding will be suitable for adding more value to the tourism sector for this regency. Paragliding could be a fun activity because this sport gives a fantastic sensation of enjoying the view of this island while flying without a machine. The best area for developing this tourism potential is in the Kutuh Hill, South Badung. Bukit Kutuh is still unfamiliar for the public, but for the tourists who are fond of paragliding, this place is their second home.
Kutuh Hill is located in the region of Timbes, South Badung, Bali. From Ngurah Rai International Airport this area could be reached in 20 minutes, meanwhile from the capital city Denpasar, this hill needs one hour driving. On this hill, you will be surprised because there are a bunch of people who also try paragliding, from the beginners until the pros; both from local and foreign tourists. It is often found that people need to queue to be able to leap off.
Kutuh Hill was started to be recognized in around 1990’s. This extreme yet challenging sport has been very attracting for the tourists who visit Bali, especially South Badung Area. From top of the hill, we could see the vast ocean, the beautiful line of coast, hotels, or settlements which are very spectacular if it is viewed from the height.
For guaranteeing safety, a paraglider pilot needs adequate skill and precision. The main equipments in this sport are main and reserve parachute, harness, and helm. Besides that, there are also some supporting equipments such as variometer, radio, H-T /G-P-S/ and windmeter. The kinds of parachutes which are used in this sport are varied based on the level of the pilot and the weight of the flight. The concept of paragliding is very simple, but very amazing. Paragliding parachute or usually called paraglider is a simple plane flying using the principals of aerodynamic. To be able to take off, a pilot needs a flat hill with 20-30 degree tilt. Meanwhile, to be airworthy, the wind should have around 15-25 kilometer per hour speed.
Before taking off, parachute will be expanded facing the wind. The parachute, stings, and harness will be checked before the pilot do fly. If all is okay, the pilot could move towards to the slope’s edge and leap off. With the blast of the wind, the parachute will be easily fly and soar into the sky. The combination of the wind speed and the pilot skill will be crucially needed for the flight. Besides the pros, a pilot/glider will need a guide for flying. The purpose is to ease to flight and avoid accident, especially in the landing process. Landing process is actually harder than flying, because it will need skill and precision.
Taking off from the hill, flying, and soaring like a bird are the most exciting experience for the tourists who try this sport. However, in paragliding, the wind is the determinant for the flight. Kutuh Hill is a decent place for developing paragliding in Bali. This hill meets the requirement to be a good paragliding center, because of its height approximately 150 meters above sea level and beautiful panorama. Besides that, when you fly in the sky of Kutuh area, you could see over the amazing panorama of Pandawa Beach. A little bit information, Pandawa Beach is a great beach with astonishing panorama located in South Kutuh. If you go paragliding in Kutuh, it must be cool to visit this beach too. For entering the beach, you must go through road which is flanked by steep cliffs. It was named after the Pandawa statues on the edge of these cliffs which now is in the process of finishing. Due to its enormous beauty, this location is often used for movie or commercial background and pre-wedding photo sessions.
In Kutuh Hill, there is also equipment rental. The price of this rental is varied from 250,000 rupiahs until 450,000 rupiahs for a 20 minute flight session. Before renting equipment here, the guests should be able to show flying and safety license. However, for the beginners who want to learn flying, in this Kutuh Hill there is also flying course with experienced instructors. These professional instructors will guide you from the basic things until you are in a real flying situation. For you who are curious and want to enter this course, you will be charge from 2.5 million rupiahs until 4 millions rupiahs. A little bit expensive though, but really worth it. For you who are fond of extreme or adventurous sports, paragliding in Kutuh Hill is a must if you visit this island.