I always wanted to fly high in the clouds and do the craziest thing of jumping from 8000 feet height. My dream landed me to Bir. Bir is a paradise in the mountains. A beautiful, small town located in Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh, is home to most popular adventure sports-Β Paragliding. It is one of the top destinations for Paragliding in India.Β Travelers from all over the world visit Bir to enjoy paragliding.
Me and my wife boarded bus from Majnu ka Tilla, Delhi and left for Bir. It is an overnight journey, we were so excited and it was hard to believe that we are finally at Bir to make our dream come true.
Hereβs an insight of our amazing and thrilling experience of paragliding.
We have booked our stay in Shiv Rama Camp, it was not close to the paragliding site, we took cab and reach there. We did check in and explored the camp and its cafeteria. Its nice camp in the mountains and jungle too and provides stay in comfortable tents. We have taken package from camp only. So, after quick freshen, we head off to paragliding site. The sport starts from Billing and then glides down to Bir, which is landing site. Thatβs why it is called as Bir Billing Together.
Reaching to Billing in jeep was so adventurous, it was like a roller coaster ride β we were like holding our hands tight, counting our breath and sliding left to right, but it was real fun.
After reaching at the spot, we were amazed to see the view.Β We were speechless, just wanted to remain silent and enjoy the beauty of the place. But, or gliders were ready as they have others in queue too. They gave us a form to fill up which was a kind of declaration that we are doing paragliding at our own risk.
We were having mixed feelings, happy, excited, nervous and little bit scared too. Meanwhile, glider was making us ready, I asked the pilot β Bhaiya, kya karna hai humien? He said bus bhagna haiβ¦. You have to run only. We were like acha! We are taking risk of our lives, jumping from so high and you are easily saying, just run!!! We ran and it actually worked.
The moment we glide over the mountains, we realized we are on top of the world. These 25-30 minutes are best time of our life. Flying high in the sky and gazing over beautiful landscape of Bir from the top was magical.
Whole scenic beauty to be admired. It is a wonderful experience, we were like please keep us in sky as long as possible, donβt let start landing. But, ultimately you have to reach to the landing site.
Scenes at landing site were beautiful itself; sky filled with colorful parachutes all over, coming down one by one in different directions were marvelous. We spend some time there in watching parachutes and clicking pictures.
In evening, we went for mountain biking, camp provided cycles for the same. Watched sunset, had dinner at the camp with bonfire as it was very cold there in the night.
Next day, we have planned to visit monasteries and market. There are lot of things to do in Bir apart from Paragliding. We started by getting up early in the morning to enjoy sunrise while sipping hot tea. After that, we had breakfast and left for Chokling Monastry.
This beautiful monastery is located in the middle of the Tibetan Colony; you need to walk a little bit from the road to reach here. The monastery is painted in white color, decorated with vibrant colors, which make it remarkable.
After that, we take a stroll at the local market and do some shopping from there. Itβs nice market having varieties of shops selling different items and different cafes. We had lunch there, spent some time admiring the beauty of the place and left for Delhi. It was hard to say good bye to such a beautiful town. We will never mind to visit this place again and again. It is a once in a life time event, you must experience it.
Some points to take into consideration while planning a trip to Bir Billing.
- Paragliding does not operate during monsoons as the weather becomes risky for flying. So, avoid visiting Bir from mid June to September end.
- October to November and March to May are the best months for flying.
- There are two types of paragliding β Tandem and Solo. For experienced paragliders, solo Paragliding is best option. They can hire parachute and keep flying in the sky for hours. In Tandem one, you will be sitted in a two seater glider, with a skilled and trained instructor. He will handle all directions of the parachute.
- On an average, paragliding ride lasts for 25-30 minutes including Go Pro camera and commuting. Still photos are charged extra. Always confirm charges and what things are included and what not.
- Adults of 18 and above are allowed for paragliding, no kids allowed.
- There is a weight limit as well for taking paragliding sport which is around upto 110-120 kgs.
We hope, till know you must be ready for experiencing Paragliding, do let us know your thoughts or any questions, if you have for the same.
