ABHA, 21 July — In the scenic mountains of Asir region, natives as well as summer tourists are enjoying a new exciting sports. Gliding, a relatively new sports in the Kingdom, has been featured by Asir Tourism Board as one of the events of the ongoing Asir Summer Festival. Prince Bandar ibn Khaled Al-Faisal, vice chairman of the board and a sports lover himself is taking keen interest in the promotion of gliding, the chief instructor told Arab News.
The gliding program, which will continue till Aug.24, features two events — one to train enthusiasts who seek to learn and discover the thrill and excitement of gliding on their own and the other, to provide joy rides on a two-seater glider.
The fee for three weeks’ training, offered by four French experts, is SR2,000 per student. Joy rides lasting 20 minutes will cost SR 200 per person. On an average 15 persons are taking joy rides each day.
The height gained by a glider is around 500m from the takeoff point on a good and bright day. On Abha’s Al-Sooda mountains, the highest point in the Gulf at 3,000m, the glider flies at 3,500m above sea level.
