Skydiving. Close your eyes and jump.

Skydiving is one of the most exciting extreme sports in the world. But it goes far beyond a simple parachute jump.

On a plane trip, we have a natural tendency to go to the window to peek into the ground, the place where humans belong. Heights can be afraid, but can also bring dizzying emotions. It is no surprise that many people like the intensity of a free-fall jump, from the stratosphere to the ground, also known as skydiving.

Always in the company of a professional, the process is this: after wearing a protective suit and a parachute, you go up in the sky in an aircraft, to an altitude of 2.5 miles, just feel the plane door open and jump. Next are 60 long and intense seconds of free fall until the parachute opens. From there to the ground are about seven minutes. Landing is usually smooth, but the emotional discharge is violent and, in most cases, euphoric.

The first free fall jumps have been tested with military purposes, and the first man to do so was Leslie Irvin, in 1919. Technological developments have enabled many advances when it comes experience: in 1930, there were already free fall competitions in the United States and, twenty years later, the activity was considered an international sport. In fact, we reached an impressive level: in October 2012, Felix Baumgartner made the most dangerous free fall jump of all times. More than 23 miles from the ground, wearing a special suit that prevented his blood from boiling, causing immediate death, Baumgartner entered the atmosphere setting a new world record.

Since its earliest days, the skydiving won numerous variants, including the legendary BASE jump, with no aircraft involved, practitioners jump from high peaks or building, wingsuit flying this jump is prolonged, given the aerodynamics of suit used, or the formation free fall, made by various practitioners, who perform a kind of dance in free fall.

Nowadays, there are thousands of skydiving centers that offer services of skydiving to anyone interested, always with the guarantee of maximum security. A brief search online and you will find one of these agencies, if you are interested in jumping from a plane and simulate, for a moment, what is fly freely, adding anxiety and life on the edge. Test your boundaries and dare to try.