A flight above the clouds- Paragliding in Bir Billing

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A flight above the clouds Paragliding in Bir
Billing
Adventure is an exciting, unusual and hazardous
experience. Who wants to live their lives in the
comfort zone? Maybe many. But I want to live a
life that exhilarates and excites me. A life
where passion becomes my bread and excitement
becomes my sweat. My bucket-list is full of
adventurous adventures and I keep adding more to
it. Just to put a tick to one on my list, I
planned for paragliding in Bir Billing.
Source http//www.homelessbackpacker.com/paragli
ding-in-bir-billing/ Me and my companion boarded
a bus at night around 9 PM and reached Mandi
early in morning. The valley of Joginder Nagar
where Bir village is located, was about 80 kms
away from Mandi. We boarded the bus from Mandi
to Bir at 8 am, the bus dropped us at Bir road
around 11 am. The place generally remains busy
and crowded but fortunately we managed to ease
past it. We started looking for homestays around
the area which are not very difficult to find.
suddenly between our hunt a kid with a pamphlet
came running and asked us if we were there for
the Paragliding. We acknowledged his query, and
he started his pitch. The pitch was aggressive
and compelling at the same moment. We were
convinced, it was then when he picked my
backpack and started walking. He took us to the
one in charge, who apparently was also the
flight coach/trainer. On initially pitched INR
5000/- we got a good discount and we settled in
at INR 4400/- for two which also includes
videography on GoPro. Paragliding in Bir
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Billing is for 15 to 30 mins which include take
off from Billing at the altitude of 8020 feet. We
left our bags in a shack shop and hopped on a
car which took us to the summit point. We were
absolutely pumped and ready to spread our wings.
During the journey till the summit we started
discussing the flight and how it is going to be,
which scared my partner to bits. Somehow we
managed to pull his pants up and reach the
summit. We got down of our car, the guide started
preparing us for the jump. We got our kits and
gears, which made the moment more exciting. We
started walking towards the starting cliff, it
was a long green steep slope. Other aviators
were discussing strategies on how to take off and
land while some were busy checking their
kits. We finally reached the top and started
waiting for our turn to make the jump. The guides
started instructing us of the safety measures,
after doing his basic chores of keeping the
gliders and harness in position, checking for
the damages, inspecting for holes and patches and
checking the direction of the winds (which
apparently should not be coming from the side we
were facing).
Source http//www.homelessbackpacker.com/paragli
ding-in-bir-billing/ At that the moment, I too
got scared. My heart started pounding heavily. My
partner was having serious doubts after he saw
others making the jump. His heart was in his
mouth. Somehow we managed to brave up and got
all geared up. We were ready to run down the
steep slope for the flight. There comes our turn
to make the run, my partner started running like
a bull and upon
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reaching the cliff he made the jump. For a moment
I thought I will have to travel back to Delhi
alone now as he is not going ti survive the fall
but somehow the expert Paraglider took him up
where was shouting like pigs. After 5 minutes it
was my turn to make the jump, I ran with all the
force I had in my thighs and upon reaching the
cliff, wind pushed the wings and in few seconds
the land swept from under my feet and I was
flying. Mother Earth was beneath me, there was no
fear, I kept quiet, spread my arms and let the
wind take me wherever it wants me to be. I was
shouting, it was not a shout out of fear but out
of excitement. The whole mountain valley was
visible. The guide made me do some random actions
in the sky. Those stunts took my breath away. We
were slowly going down and it was time to land
now. The speed got faster as we were going down.
The guide asked me to keep my legs and knees in a
particular way so that we dont land directly on
our feet. While landing I could see my partner
waving and cheering. It was a successful and
safe landing. I got out of my gear and ran
towards my partner. The 15 minute paragliding in
Bir Billing through the cloud was mesmerising and
stunning. Those 15 minutes gave me lifetime
worth of memories, and experience which I will
cherish for the rest of my life. After we were
done with the main event we started looking for a
place to stay. It was just 3 pm. We had our
lunch and decided to leave the same day for Tosh.
It took 6 hours to reach tosh. You can easily
find accommodation in Tosh, where we lived for
the next two days. This unplanned short trip was
worth putting into my bucket list. Paragliding in
Bir Billing is absolutely safe and a worthwhile
experience. The air there was so clean that you
would never want to come down. Up there I
realised one thing that we need to fill our lives
with experiences and stories, Not things. Have
stories to tell, not things to show.
We dared to fly in the beautiful skies of Bir
Biling. We would love to know about your
experience and see your crazy videos as
well. Visit http//www.homelessbackpacker.com/
to know the complete itinerary, more adventures
and articles.