Bir Billing and Paragliding

"It is possible to fly without motors, but not without knowledge and skill." 

This long weekend we decided to give a try to paragliding and which else location could be better than Bir-Billing for this activity.

Day 1- We started our journey from Delhi towards Bir. Due to unavailability of direct bus ticket, we have to do hop journey via Kangra and Baijnath. 

Delhi to Kangra-

Bus Type - Semi Delux/Volvo(HRTC)

Booked from - redbus.in

Fare - 951₹

Kangra to Baijnath-

Bus Type - Local Transport

Fare - 80₹

After reaching baijnath, we freshen up ourselves in a hotel near bus stand. It costed 300₹ for 4 hrs stay. Then we reached baijnath temple.

Baijnath is famous for its 13th century temple dedicated to Lord Shiva as 'Vaidyanath' which means 'the Lord of physicians'. Parks near by temple are well maintained. One can spend time inside temple campus or in parks.

Then we booked GoStop hostel with 2 dormitories in Bir. Checked out from hotel and before catching the bus, we went to a small restaurant named "Sakshi Restaurant" to eat the local food. It was kind of ladies only restaurant. From billing counter to serving person, all were ladies. They served us local dishes like Thupka, Soup, Momos at very low price. Below is the menu and other dishes-

 We asked them if there are most of shops run by women only and they replied affirmative. We said Thanks to them for tasty food and then caught the last bus to bir(for that day) which was around 6.30 PM.

GoStop-

Gostop is also like Zostel which is basically for bag packers but they provide rooms as well. We had booked dormitories for 600₹ which includes breakfast.

You'll find many games and things to spend you time without getting bored there. The major benefit of staying in hostel while on the go, is you meet different kind of persons and then only a word 'Hi' may end up in a conversation of few hours. :)

Day 2- After finishing our Free breakfast in GoStop, we reached Billing. There is no public transport available to reach Billing, so you either hitchhike or book taxi which would cost 700₹. After reaching Billing, we understood why its one of the best sites for paragliding. The surroundings of this place, mountains, weather, wind everything seems suitable for flying. Below is the take off site for paragliders and other flying activities-

Billing-
This is around 15 km far from Bir and it took around 50 mins to reach there from Bir. Camping is available there but there are only 2 shops which can give you Maggie, omellette and few packed snacks. So we already purchased packed items from Bir as the higher you go, the price also gets high. We stayed for 15-20 mins there and started trek to Rajgundha.

Trek to Rajgundha-
Rajgundha is around 14 km from Billing. One can trek to Rajgundha or also you can take taxi directly to Rajgundha. In rainy season due to landslide, roads get blocked and only option remains is hiking. Alternatively, you can start trek from Barot to Rajgundha. Below are few photos captured enroute-

In the middle, there is only tea hut known as Chachu ki dukan, we had a cup of tea with Chachu. 

From there, if you have enough time in your hand, you can start hiking to Hanumangarh which is 5 km of steep climb and there is nothing to stay at top, so you have to come back and continue for Rajgundha.
After 8 hrs of journey, we finally reached Rajgundha.

Rajgundha-
It is surrounded by Dhauladhar peaks and gives you amazing views of snow capped mountains. This village has very less population. There are 2 options to stay-
1. Camping - 700₹ per night(dinner + breakfast)
2. Government Rest House - 350₹ (stay only), also for this you have to take approval from Forest department which is in Baijnath.

Day 3- 
This day was dedicated for paragliding in our itinerary. So after having breakfast, we started moving towards Billing again. On the way, we met many travellers who were going to Rajgundha and most of them were foreigners. Around 3 PM, we reached the take off site for paragliding. This time weather was different here.

Giant clouds and within few minutes it started raining there. After 10 mins of rain, the pebbles started hailing from sky. We were astonished to see how rapidly weather is changing. After 20 min of rain, clouds started running away.

The weather was so pleasant and our(except me*) excitement was on the top to do paragliding inside the clouds. 
*(Except me= I have acrophobia) but I wanted to feel the thrill so I also did it.

Paragliding-
Cost(with GoPro)- 2500₹ normal, but you can negotiate up to 2000₹.
Cost(without GoPro) - 2000₹ normal, can negotiate up to 1700₹.
Cost(landing photos) - 200₹
Total(normal) - 2700₹


Chougan- This can be called as base camp for paragliders. In 2015, Paragliding world cup was organised and pilots from different country participated here. You can always see trainee pilots at landing site. For visitors and bag packers, there are many homestay and hotels available in this village.
After landing at Chougan, we searched for homestay and we got homestay in Himalayan Café. The rent is 600₹ per night for 1 room which contains 2 bed. We had our meals from Vairagi Café and this is only café which remains open till 10 PM.

Day 4-
According to itinerary, this day was for cycling in the mountains. After having breakfast, we hired cycles from local shop.
Cycling-
Rent - 100₹ per hour and  800₹ per day
Things to check - alignment , gear , breaks, tyre air
Note- If you're not on exercise mode, be ready to face little pain in your a** for next 3-4 days after cycling day. ;)

For breakfast, we went to 99 not out food point. Price are normal and food is tasty.

They also provide cycle for rent. We negotiated and got 2 cycles for 4 hrs in 500₹. 

After many efforts, we could visit only 1 monastery there.

Sherbaling Monastery -
It is around 6 km away from Chougan village. There is a temple where devotees offer prayers and also this monastery accommodates around 500 child , young and old age monks who practice Buddhism there.
Entry Fee: no
Camera allowed: yes, but not inside temple
Public transport: No
Food: yes, cafeteria where visitors can have snacks
Parking availability: Yes
Others: for more info click here

After coming back to Chougan, we returned the cycles and went to other famous cafes like Vairagi and Himalayan café .

Pizza at Himalayan café costs 220₹.
After tasting this delicious pizza, we booked bus to Delhi from Palampur due to availability issue. So we followed below route-
Bir to Baijnath-

Bus Type - Local Transport

Fare - 15₹

Baijnath to Palampur-

Bus Type- Local Transport

Fare - 25₹

Palampur to Delhi-

Bus  Type - Volvo (HRTC)

Booked from - redbus.in(again we got good deal there)

Fare - 1461₹

And next morning, we came back to Delhi with amazing experience of flying and trekking.

Thank you for reading this blog. Have any thoughts? Let me know in comment section below. :)