Exploring Bir Billing: A Trip to the Paragliding Capital of India

In May 2023, we visited Bir Billing, a rural village located in the west of Joginder Nagar Valley in the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India. Bir is known as the paragliding capital of India and is home to the Bir Tibetan Colony, which was established in the 1960s as a settlement for Tibetan refugees. Bir serves as the landing site for paragliders, while Billing is the starting point. Personally, I did not try paragliding due to my fear of heights. Our trip lasted for four days, and the highlight was spending time at the beautiful landing site and witnessing the breathtaking sunset.

• Regarding our accommodation, we booked a room at The Birdhouse Villa in Chaughan, Bir. The room was a basic one with all the necessary amenities, and it cost us around Rs 7,000. Although the room was good, it was not excellent. However, the balcony offered an awesome view of the tea garden and the surrounding greenery.

• In terms of sightseeing, there are many places to visit in Bir Billing. However, due to the short duration of our trip and our decision not to try paragliding, we only visited a couple of monasteries in the peaceful outskirts of Bir. We also took the opportunity to visit the Gunehr waterfall, which required a small trek to reach. The waterfall was truly magnificent, and hiring a guide for Rs 200 per person was necessary. Most of our time was spent at the landing site, where we leisurely enjoyed the moment and witnessed the highly recommended sunset, which was truly amazing as the sun set behind the mountains. Additionally, we explored the tea garden and roamed around the Bir area on a scooty, allowing us to appreciate the grandeur of nature and put our own problems into perspective.

• During our visit, we also had the chance to try out a few cafes in Bir. One of them is Buransh Cafe, which has an amazing rooftop and decent interior. However, in my opinion, the prices were quite high considering the location, and the portion size was small. Another cafe we enjoyed was Silver Lining, a lovely mud construction with a beautiful farm surrounding it. This cafe, run by Apoorva, is famous for its coffee and bakes. We highly recommend trying their banoffee pie and cold coffee, especially since they follow a sustainable theme. We also tried the dosa at Ava Cafe and a vegan smoothie at Bhoomi Cafe

• One of the sights that we missed was Macchail Lake. The lake is considered sacred and is named after Machinder Nath or Matasya Avtar of Lord Vishnu, literally 'The Fish God'. Hence, you can find fish all over, giving you a fish spa experience.

• Below is a breakdown of my expenses summarized. This does not include the flight ticket. The journey started from Delhi, so all the expenses are to and from Delhi.

Particulars	Amount (INR)
Homestay	7,000
Scooty	2,000
food	6,000
Other	2,000
Bus (Both side from delhi)	3,000
Total	20,000

 Pic-Landing site, Bir