Parasailing in Bir Billing is an extremely fun and adventurous activity for tourists and adventure junkies alike. Bir Billing is proudly known as the 'Paragliding capital of India'. This small town in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh is considered to be the best location in the country to enjoy the sport of paragliding or parasailing. It has been ranked as the second-highest takeoff location in the world for paragliding and parasailing. A typical tour of paragliding or parasailing in Bir Billing takes you to a camping and paragliding adventure, with world-class services at your disposal, so you get to enjoy that lifelong dream of soaring above the beautiful and pristine Himalayan landscapes. In a short yet highly adventurous flight of about 15 to 30 minutes depending on the weather conditions, you will be seeing some of the most brilliant sights of the valley without having to worry about steering the parachute as you will be accompanied by a trained pilot on the flight. A typical tour also includes camping in Bir Billing in clean and comfortable conditions with all the necessary amenities. Our
resort in Himachal Pradesh also has camping and adventure sports. Take the road less travelled and visit our
resort in Himachal Pradesh, where you can experience the best of Himachal Pradesh, its culture, the people and the adventure at Rakkh Resort Palampur.
Paragliding or Parasailing guide 2021 -
The paragliding session consists of 15 to 30 minutes and the cost per flight is 2000 INR per person. The paragliding landing area which is Bir to Billing which is the paragliding takeoff point is at a distance of 18 kilometers from each other and this 18 kilometer flight is aided by an experienced pilot.
Exclusions to paragliding or parasailing flight 2021 -
The weight limit for paragliding or parasailing at Bir Billing is between 15 kg to 90 kg between the months of October to February and between 30 kg to 90 kg in the months of April to June. But, if a tourist’s weight is between 90 kg and 115 kg, the paragliding team charges an extra fee of 500 INR per person, and also they decide to fly depending upon the fitness of that particular person.
Travel insurance is not included on the paragliding or parasailing flight, which covers medical evacuation, hospitalization, trip cancellation and baggage insurance. Any additional videography or photography expenses for the parasailing or paragliding trip are 500 INR for a GoPro video of the trip which does not include disturbances in the footage caused by natural weather conditions, sickness, bad weather, storms etc.
There is no insurance provided for loss of goods, life, injury or accidents.
History of Paragliding or Parasailing in Bir Billing -
In the 1980’s some French Pilots recognized “Bir Billing” as the best favorable condition for flying and introduced Hang Gliding in Bir Billing. Hang gliding was very difficult at that time as pilots needed to carry heavy metal frames and canopy to the Paragliding take-off point which was 14 km uphill and was a really strenuous task. The road to Billing did not exist at all at that time, so a tourist or hang glider needed porters and mules to carry the heavy metal frames and canopy, which was not possible for all the pilots.
Paragliding or parasailing in Bir Billing was introduced in the early years of the 1990’s by ‘Bruce Mills’ who was a pilot from New Zealand and very well known in the Bir Billing valley which started attracting many pilots to try their hands at paragliding here. Later it became popular among locals of Bir and they started learning paragliding or parasailing. Now after the year 2000, Bir Billing started tandem paragliding which meant a paragliding flight of two people in which one person is the pilot and the other is a tourist which introduced commercial activity and employment to the local inhabitants of Bir Billing.
Now Bir Billing has more than 200 trained paragliding pilots, out of which nearly a hundred pilots are licensed officially by the Himachal Pradesh Tourism. Bir Billing hosted the paragliding world cup in 2015 in which pilots of over 130 countries from across the globe participated. The paragliding world cup made the sport extremely popular in India and commercial flying increased significantly and Bir Billing became a favorite paragliding destination in India and across the globe for many paragliders and parasailers looking for adventure.
When to visit Bir Billing for paragliding or parasailing -
The best time to visit Bir Billing for parasailing or paragliding is throughout the year except for the monsoon season. The monsoon season or the rainy season here which is from early July to late September comes with very heavy rain from July to September, which is the time when paragliding is completely closed in Bir Billing. Bir Billing is located in the foothills of the Dhauladhar mountain range of the Himalayan mountains in Himachal Pradesh, which provide amazing weather conditions throughout the year apart from the rainy season. Our
resort in Himachal Pradesh is also located in the Dhauladhar mountain range of Himachal Pradesh and our
resort in Himachal Pradesh which is the Rakkh Resort in Palampur also has many adventure sports and activities that take place at our
resort in Himachal Pradesh.
But the best period for paragliding or parasailing in Bir Billing is divided into two parts and they are firstly from October to June which is the main season for paragliding and October to November and March to June are also the best time for longer flights.
The paragliding or parasailing experience during the months of December and January is different as all the mountains around Bir Billing are covered with snow, and even Billing experiences a lot of snowfall during this period. Most of the travelers still choose this period for camping and paragliding in Bir Billing valley for the thrill and solemn adventure of parasailing and paragliding under tougher conditions.
Itinerary for paragliding or parasailing in Bir Billing -
