A journey to Bir: The Paragliding Paradise

It all started when I was looking for places to visit on an upcoming weekend. Bir was never in my list of getaway places, only till the time I came across a paragliding blog a few weeks back. Paragliding has always fascinated me, but at the same time, the thought of jumping from a mountain scares the hell out of me. But this time, as I read a few blogs on the same, I decided to overcome this fear and go to Bir for paragliding.

DAY-1

On a beautiful evening of 28th February, I, along with my friends, boarded the HRTC(Himachal roadways) bus from ISBT Kashmere Gate, Delhi, at 8:30 p.m. The ride till Bir was a comfortable and relaxing one. With two stops on the way, we reached Chougan Chowk(idk why it is pronounced as Chauhan chowk :P) at 8:30 in the morning. Our stay, The Hosteller, was the best I could have wished for. Being a young college graduate, I loved the vibes of this place. A funky place with graffiti all around, stole my heart at first sight. This hostel offers both dorms as well as double-occupancy rooms along with meals for the whole day. Apart from this, these guys are flexible with the check-in and check-out timings depending upon the availability of rooms.

Soon after the check-in, we had some really delicious Paranthas and hot chocolate. Since the weather was not appropriate for paragliding, we decided to wait for a while till the weather clears out. We took a walk to the landing site, which was around 1.5 km from our stay. It is recommendable to look for a stay within the vicinity of the landing site as there are many cafes and shops in that area. As soon as we reached the site, I couldn't believe my eyes. Although I had been to many places in the mountains, Bir was different. Being located in a valley, it offered some breathtaking views. Dark clouds in the sky contrasting the green trees and crops, left me awestruck.

But soon, reality hit me. I realized that we will not be able to do paragliding until the clouds clear, and our trip would be wasted. Unfortunately, it rained...and rained like hell. We could see our trip being washed away in the rain. We returned to our hotel, had hot maggie with some sandwiches, watched web series, and later found ourselves sleeping in our dorm beds. Can you imagine sleeping early on a trip? Yes, that was the result of the hostel bonfire being cancelled, you know why...

DAY-2

The next morning, I woke up disappointed. Still, as soon as I opened the curtains, I experienced a sudden wave of happiness within me. The sky was bright blue, with the sun shining on the top. I woke up everyone else with great excitement and decided to go for paragliding then and there. We talked to the guy at reception. Oh, did I tell you about him? A young lad probably in his late teens or early twenties was so damn fun. As someone would say in Delhi slang- He was a complete backchod(????). I must say he was the highlight of our stay.

So yeah, we talked to him regarding paragliding, and he arranged a slot for us for 2000 bucks per person with GoPro. Yes, do bargain. People will be telling you 2500 with GoPro, but they will easily come down. Also, please don't go for some random paraglider group since many of them are not trained, and that can be risky. After freshening up, we left for the paragliding take-off site, which was in Billing in an open tempo. The ride was around 50 mins long as Billing is about 15 km from Bir. While I was in the jeep, I could feel something in my stomach as if someone inside me is doubting if I’ll be able to do it or not. My earlier fears came back and scared me. As we headed towards the take-off site, I felt cold and shivery. We reached the place, and I could see several paragliders lying on the ground and people preparing themselves for the take-off.

My pilot called me, and I took small steps towards him. He opened up the glider, harnessed me, gave me the GoPro, and told me to just run till I'm in the air. The nervousness flew away, and I was wholly focussed on running since a girl just before me didn't run properly, and hence her glider couldn't fly. With complete focus, I ran as my pilot said, "Go, run, run", along with other guides saying the same. I ran, and in no time, my feet were in the air, and my pilot said excellent take-off, good run. We were in the air, no nervousness or fear, just happiness of ticking off an item from my bucket list. Down there was a dense forest, and the village of Bir was just a sight away. My glider flew, the pilot taking the glider to new heights, and I could see other gliders way below me. I closed my eyes and just felt the satisfaction of my much-awaited dream coming true.

Only after that, I came back to reality and realized it was damn cold up there. Cold winds coming from snowy ranges, made my hands and face freeze. A couple of things to keep in mind- wear a windcheater or thick jacket to save your chest from cold, wear gloves, and, if possible, cover your ears too. Do not take out the phone while in the air. It is preferable not to eat anything before paragliding. After 15-20 mins, we approached the ground and finally landed. To my surprise, it was a smooth one. I sat there for a while for my stomach to get to its normal state and waited for my friends to return.

After some time, we had breakfast-poha and paranthas along with honey lemon ginger tea at one the best cafes in Bir, which was June 16 Cafe. These guys serve some really finger-licking food.

Since it was past 12, we had to check-out from our hostel. We kept our luggage in the common room and left to explore the village more. We took a walk to the nearby village, which was much more peaceful and quiet. On our way back, we sat at the landing site and saw a considerable number of paragliders taking off from the far off mountain. In 5 minutes or so, the landing site was full of gliders, offering a perfect end to the trip.

We picked up our luggage and left for the bus pickup point. These buses are flexible with the pickup points, so do call and ask for changes if required. At around 6 in the evening, we hopped onto Laxmi travels' bus from Chougan chowk and reached ISBT Kashmere gate at 5:30 in the morning. The trip was quite economical. It cost less than 7000 bucks along with no BT, haha :P