Go in search of the legendary hidden kingdom...
Go in search of the legendary hidden kingdom...
| Theme Park | PortAventura |
|---|---|
| Park Area | China |
| Type | Rollercoaster |
| Audience | Thrillseekers |
| Opened | 12 May 2012 |
| Manufacturer | Bolliger & Mabillard |
| Model | Hyper Coaster |
| Height | 249 ft |
| Length | 5131 ft |
| Inversions | 0 |
| Max Speed | 83 mph |
| Duration | 2¾ minutes |
Airtime on Shambhala
Shambhala is a legendary kingdom hidden high up in the Himalayas, spoken about in Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
This inaccessible paradise lends its name to PortAventura's legendary hyper coaster of the same name.
The ride was manufactured by Bolliger and Mabillard (B&M), and is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of their rollercoasters. On opening it stole the records for the tallest, fastest and longest drop on a hyper coaster in Europe from Europa Park's Silver Star. In turn, these were lost to Hyperion when it opened at Energylandia in 2018.
In common with many hypercoasters, Shambhala's track layout is mainly comprised of huge airtime hills, together with sweeping turns and a large helix (a figure of eight in Shambhala's case) to turn the train around at the halfway mark. Nearer the finale is a splashdown element which provides a popular photo point. However, unlike similar water effects on other coasters, Shambhala's trains never actually touch the water: the wave is instead created by a series of water jets timed to set off as the train passes.
Shambhala is an impressive ride, with an engaging layout that provides plenty of forces and airtime moments, together with some interesting interactions with Dragon Khan. For the seemingly brief periods that riders are actually in their seats, the coaster is beautifully smooth.
Undoubtedly, Shambhala is one of the top highlights of PortAventura. It attracts crowds of visitors - most of whom come off absolutely elated - but has a decent throughput to churn through them all quickly (depending on PortAventura's operations!). It is magnificent, and throughly deserves its legendary status advocated by rollercoaster enthusiasts.
Shambhala entrance
Ride station
A full train
Front row
Lift hill
First drop
Giant hill
Airtime
Water splash
Climbing up
Front of the train
Welcome back riders
Back in the station
The legend
