Paragliding Sites in India
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Billing has almost become a legend in the international
paragliding circuit having a hosted some international
and world cup competitions in both hang gliding and paragliding.
The take-off is a little meadow at 2,400 meters on the
Dhauladhars (lower Himalayas). Visiting pilots stay at
the Tibetan colony below and there are a few pg pilots
like Bruce and Andy who have been residents for a few
years and return from trips home to New Zealand and England
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XC flight to Dharamsala and back is 90 km's and cloudbase
here on some days is at 5000 meters. A few years ago Bob and
Robbie (Bob Drury and Robbie Whittall) flew from Dharamsala
to Nepal, flying 50 to 100 km's a day, landing in places where
people had never even seen a car, forget a paraglider.
Avi's own wonderful experiences landed him in valleys where
the oh-so-sweet 'n' simple villagers gave him no less than
a Sky-God status much to his amusement.
Manali -The Kullu valley(the Valley of Gods) offers
some of the best mountain flying in the region. It has one
of the most beautiful valleys in the lower Himalayas fringed
with Chinar (pine) trees with the backdrop of snow - capped
peaks. When u fly from sites like Gulaba or Phatru the chances
are that high above the Chinar trees you might have mountain
eagles and vultures as your flying escorts.
Dyar and Bijli Mahadev (another name for the Shiva
temple) are other popular sites down in Kullu where the local
priest can guide you for take off and give some tips and tricks
about flying.
Manali is the Center of adventure in the North, where skiing
is done in the winters (December to March). The summer (April
to monsoons in July) opens passes for trekkers keen on bigger
mountains in the higher Himalayas and white water rafting in
the Beas river. Flying resumes post monsoon till winters.
Then there are other sites like Mussourie, Uttaranchal, Nainital
and many more areas still unexplored. In the Himalayas you
don't really need flying sites, you can fly from almost anywhere..
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