2022
Paragliding at Bir Billing is one of the best paragliding experience in India. The elevation is around 2400 meters. I visited this place for 2 days from 23rd June to 24th June 2018. I took a bus from Majnu Ka Tilla, Delhi to Bir. Take the HRTC bus for a pleasant experience. The bus left Delhi at 8 at night. I reached Bir around 7 in the morning. The weather at Bir was quite peaceful. There is no bus station at Bir. The bus drops you in the market. I had an advance booking for the hotel and the paragliding activity. I stayed in a hotel for around 3-4 hours in Bir. Bir is a beautiful place with greenery all around. It is not so crowded so it makes it more desirable. I went for a walk to the nearby market to check out the attractions. I visited the Garden Cafe. The ambience is alluring. It had variety of dishes. The food was amazing. After that I went to the Monastery nearby. It is a beautiful monastery with many sculptures.
I had booked for paragliding, for the second day. I hiked from Bir to Billing. The hike was of 14km. It was an amazing hike amidst the forests. I hired a person who guided me for the hike. It took 3 hours to complete the hike. Billing is the point from where the paragliding starts. There was a huge amount of crowd for the adventurous activity. I had a stay in the tent for one night. The tents were nicely pitched in with all the facilities available. The network might be one of the problems at Billing.
The next day I did the paragliding. It takes almost half an hour to get ready for the activity. I did paragliding early in the morning. The person from whom I booked the tickets prepared us for the activity. We had the harness attached to us with the parachute. I was provided a gopro to record the whole experience. The person with whom I was paragliding was very experienced. He had done many flights before. We took off very quickly. The steps told by the paraglider should be adhered to, to prevent any injuries. I am not able to explain what an astounding experience it was. You cannot experience the thrills unless you do it. The scenic beauty was ravishing. Up in the air with such beautiful surroundings and an adrenaline rush, I didn't want anything more. The lush green mountain ranges were surrounding me. The clouds were trying to depict different forms in front of me. The sun was throwing a small light. The wind was passing by me sometimes slapping me and the other time making me realize that it can do wonders. The landing part was also smooth. At the time of landing there were photographers to take your pictures. You can collect pictures and videos from them. The flight is of 11-15 mins approximately. Do take our usb cable with you for smooth transfer of photos and videos.
Since I had the whole day available with me so I went to a nearby village Barot. It is a small village around 25kms from Bir. Himachal roadways buses are available which are very cheap. As no bus was available so I booked a cab. The cab took around 45 mins. The route is scenic. The best thing about this place is that it is less crowded and the view is amazing. Vast forest cover, sound of the flowing river, the famous trout fish and the simplicity of this place will capture your mind and soul. Try the trout fish whenever in Barot.
PS: During paragliding they don't provide knee caps which is risky, as it may cause injuries if you are not able to takeoff properly which happens in many cases.
Caution: Public washrooms are not available at Bir. The one present is non-functional.
