Paragliding Sites
around our base, Kamshet
Kamshet (Original name "Karmakshetra" which means the land
of your karma) is a small township located off the old Mumbai
- Pune highway (NH-4). The hills along this route are dotted
with ancient cave temples of the Buddhist monks, medieval hill
fortresses of the brave warriors and colonial hill stations
that often double up as flying sites.
Kamshet is 110 kilometers from Mumbai city & 45 Kms from
Pune, the town more famous for OSHO-(the renowned spiritual
maestro) and the Rajneesh Ashram. The new expressway
between the two cities makes transportation very convenient.
We have several training and advance level flying sites in
the area around Kamshet. Most are within a radius of 10 kms
and easily accessible. Few are privately owned and need permissions
(which we have) and others are free for all.
| Pavana Lake:
 Easily the most beautiful, most picturesque flying site in the Kamshet Area. We’d say it’s the “Coolest site” especially in the summer months – with the take off facing the massive Pavana Lake (Dimensions = Km).
The take off height is about 300 Ft and the average height of the ridge about 350 Ft. with the lake shore as the landing area.
The take off area is a huge gentle slope, ideal for advance kiting, ridge dancing, practicing top landings etc.
Soaring is easy and one gains good altitude with thermals in early afternoon and can either come over the lake to practice manures or fly back to the Tikona Fort and higher ridge (800 to 1000 ft Above ground level) on the down wind side.
The lake shore too has a big flat area to practice ground handling and kiting.
The fresh, cool, laminar flow from the lake makes this not tiring but a refreshing experience.
One can take a dip into the lake for a cool swim after one’s flight.
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Training Hill: Among the top training hills in the Kamshet area Shindewadi as it is known was also discovered by Avi (chief flying instructor, Temple Pilots).
This east facing slope is ideally suited for introductory lessons. It’s a 150 feet small ridge that tapers to a nursery slope to the base .The slope offers perfect gradient for doing the initial hops, learning the take off and landing technique. This is where most students do their epic “First Solo Flight”.
The site offers excellent opportunity for basic and advance kiting skills and experienced pilots soar for an hour |
| Shelar site: Situated 8 kilometers from the highway
this site is perfect for ridge soaring and thermalling.
Avi, discovered this site 8 years back when he was exploring
the Sahyadris and promoting the sport in the area. To our
great joy this has now become the most popular training
and flying site in Maharashtra. About a mile long, this
North-South bowl shaped ridge is perfect for evening flying
from December to June. Take off is at 175 feet above ground
level. A short uphill walk leads you to the takeoff and
once airborne you can soar for hours with a scenic view
of fields, tiny hamlets and several lakes. |
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Tower hill: Just off the highway
at Kamshet on the road to Pavna dam this North South
ridge is visible from the highway and is drivable for
most of the way. The take off site is large enough for
a dozen pilots to take off at the same time. The site
overlooks the Indrayani river and the Kamshet touwnship.
Take off is 700 feet above ground level. Pilots have
covered good distances from this site. |
| Celebrity hills: This is a privately
owned paragliding site, ideal for beginners to intermediate level pilots
and one can soar for hours. Most flying happens, in east
winds till mid- Jan and in westerlies till june when monsoons
begin. This site has both east and a west face and works
almost throughout the flying season. The take-off is at
200 feet above ground level and one can easily make one's
way up using the ridge, which extends further south and
gets higher. This paragliding site has some amazing views of the Pavna
Lake and three gorgeous ancient forts (Tikona, Lohagad
and Visapur), perhaps the most picturesque site in the
area and one can explore some very interesting distance
flying. |
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Panchgani
- Hill resort: A colonial hill
station about 110 kms from Kamshet.
 Horse
riding, quiet walks, an excursion to the Kamalgad Fort, picking
strawberries or breakfasting on bread and fresh jam. are some
delightful ways of pampering yourself here.
Take off altitude is 1500m and landing altitude 1200m. This
is an extremely popular flying site excellent for ridge soaring.
The main take off is Harrison's Folly named after an eccentric
Englishman from the imperial days who built a house on the
ridge that was soon blown off by the winds. The ridge has a
road to the top and has 4 main take offs facing east into the
wind.
There is no end to where all you can fly in this area. Some
of the best sites we have explored where you can fly from are Raigad
Fort, which also happens to have a cable car facility.
There's the fort atop a cliff and one can fly from several
directions, a beautiful winding river in the valley and not
so distant ridges make it very inviting for distance flying.
Then there are others as exotic as they can get - Bhimashankar,
a Shiva temple atop a mountain surrounded by dense forest all
around,world famous for its species of the giant squirrel known
as 'Shekru'. The river Bhima originates from here. Not very
far is another site that offers great flying -the Shivneri
Fort, one of the most prominent forts in the Sahyadris.
From an intermediate pilot who is looking some exotic locales
to fly and some good airtime to log, or wants to pactice thermalling
and is keen on exploring and doing distances, this is a great
place to be. If you are flying hungry, you can literally hog
here in addition to the thrill of flying new and exotic sites
with a taste of country India. The experience - I can say will
be a soul soothing one and your life will never be the same
again. In some cool way it will be spiritual.
Anjani - is the birth place of the flying God Hanuman,
this flying site is near Trimbakeshwar, Nashik. Closer home
is a lake site near the massive Mulshi Lake, and one
can explore endlessly. We look forward to inviting pilots or
beginners who wish to learn with us, to come and share the
skies with us and other than flying find friends for life.
Ratnagiri Beach: This pretty little port town is world
famous for its alphanso mangoes. Ratnagiri has all the charm
and quirks to draw tourists for long weekends. 150 kilometres
from Kamshet the road winds along the west coast allowing facinating
glimpses of the beaches all the way. Flying here is like sailing
in the sky.and it can be quite a meditative experience.
Goa - Querim (pronounced as Keri) and Arambol Beach:
This beach is remote and beautiful and lies in North Goa.
On the opposite bank is the Tiracol Fort and you can ferry
across to this quiet haven.
The Arambol beach is 12km further down from Keri beach although
if you take off from Keri, the flying distance to Arambol is
hardly a kilometer. This tree lined white beach has its
own take off and a fresh water lagoon. Hippies discovered this
tranquil fishing settlement and you still see a spillover from
that era.
Flying is smooth and landings are soft on the sand. |
