Lifetime Adventure Of Paragliding In Bir Billing
It had been almost a month since our last trip to Dayara Bugyal, this time we were planning an adventure different from our previous experiences. After some online research, we thought of doing paragliding from Asia’s highest paragliding site paragliding capital of India, Bir Himachal Pradesh.
In October 2015 India hosted the paragliding world cup event, which gave Bir international recognition. The flying season in Bir is majorly from September to October and many competitions and events are held at Bir.
We booked our bus for the 5th of July and it was scheduled at 7:30 Pm from Majnu ka Tila, and we reached at around 8 Am the next morning.
Looking For Accommodation
We looked for places and in search, we went to Zostel but it was all occupied, we asked in few more hotels and decided on Paul Manor.
We checked into the hotel room, got freshened up and ordered lunch. After having lunch we went outside to explore and also to inquire about paragliding activities.
Exploring Town Of Bir
Bir is a quiet but lively place with many cafes and restaurants. It is a Tibetan colony wherein you can find Chokling monastery in the middle. It has a statue of Padmasambhava and a stupa. Unfortunately, we missed visiting this place.
There was a cafe called Paloma Bistro near the paragliding landing point, we went there for coffee. The atmosphere was great and we sat on the balcony side from where we could see the paragliders flying high in the sky. We got excited and were eagerly waiting for our paragliding adventure.
There were many shops from where you could rent a bike if you love mountain biking, this could be the best alternative option for adventure here by which you can cover the Bir villages, valleys and many more hidden gems.
After having our coffee we returned to our hotel, and in between, we inquired an adventure sports agency about paragliding. They told us it would cost around Rs 1500 per person but we have negotiated up to Rs 1200. They agreed because it was off-season and then they asked us to come over the next morning around 9 am. After we got all the information, we went back to our hotel room and rested for a while.
The Drizzle Of Moments
Around 7 pm, we went outside for a walk and later for dinner too. The weather was misty and the streets were so quiet that we could only hear the raindrops. It felt kind of romantic and we ended up holding hands as we walked.
Across the street, we saw a cafe- Moonshine Madness, which seemed to be a very happening place. As we entered, the music was quite soothing and the aura was peaceful.
There were a couple of foreigners chit-chatting and enjoying their food. The place had several seatings like inside the cafe, in the backyard, and upstairs.
We sat in the backyard and ordered spinach spaghetti soup, tomato soup, vegetable salad and pizza. The food looked so exotic and was delicious too. The pizza was very good perfectly seasoned with fresh vegetables and a thin crust. We highly recommend this place anytime you visit Bir.
After this amazing dinner, we headed back to the hotel and still, it was raining outside. So we took a lift from a cab which was passing by and he dropped us off near the hotel, we still had to walk a few steps as our hotel was not on the main road. By the time we reached our room we were all soaked so, we changed and freshened up. For some time we watched TV and played Jenga a while, then went off to sleep.
Aerial Adventure
With all the excitement in us, we woke up around 7 in the morning and got ready for paragliding. We went to that agency to align with the person who was supposed to take us to the paragliding site. We got into a jeep and two paragliders were sitting next to us. We reached the paragliding site which was in Billing around 10 am.
Paragliders prepare themselves and their gliders for the fly, before the flight they gave us some instructions such as:
- We have to run at the paraglider’s pace during taking off
- We have to keep our legs up while landing
- We have to sit straight and not lean forward or backwards in mid-air
- How to operate go pro. Etc
After this session, now it was time for a real adventure. Surabhi’s instructor was ready with all the pre-checks so, she buckled up and took off. In the next few minutes, she was high in the sky and now it was my turn, my instructor checked my harness and glider then we ran off, it was a smooth take-off.
Now I was flying and recording myself, that was an amazing experience I can’t express in words how it feels to fly like a bird in the infinite sky. I was feeling very light and everything I saw below me seemed very small.
After a few minutes, my instructor changed the course and we were now heading towards the landing site, Surabhi was ahead of me, I saw her landing and then she waved to me with full of excitement and joy. When I landed we gave a high-five to each other and we felt so relaxed and proud.
After this fantastic experience, we walked down the lane from the landing site and decided to have breakfast at the Paloma Bistro. We ordered banana and chocolate pancakes with espresso and a masala tea.
Now after breakfast we were free to chill for the whole day. We have completed the adventure of a lifetime for which we came here. We decided to do some shopping from some local handicraft stores, we bought a few souvenirs for ourselves and our friends.
After this light shopping, we returned to our hotel and started to think about what to do next as we still had a few days left, we started searching for treks in Bir Billing and luckily we found a hidden gem “Rajgundha Valley Trek“. We dug up all the information about the trek and decided to go for it the next day.