Himachal Pradesh is located in North West in India in the lap of the Great Himalayas. It is bordered by Jammu and Kashmir in the North, Punjab in the West, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in the South and Tibet in the East. Literally meaning, “The Land of Snow”, it enjoys a unique position in the Indian Himalayas. The elevation varies from 350m to 6975m. The people are friendly and welcoming, especially in the more remote areas, where tourists are still a novelty. Bir Billing has a great variety of landscapes, from plains, to foothills, to lush alpine valleys with numerous peaks of over 6000mt to the spectacular high altitude deserts of Ladakh and spiti..
The Kullu and Kangra Valleys are similarly landscaped to the Alps but on a higher and bigger scale. There is unlimited potential for XC and out and returns. Cloud base can range from 2500m to 6000m, with the tree-line at 3200m. Thermals tend to range from 2-10 m/s. There are many spectacular peaks over 5000m.
Billing seems to be made for flying, conveniently placed at 2300mt on one of the numerous spurs of the Dhauladhar range that extend towards the plains. The views are impressive with a backdrop of 5500mt peaks on one side, and the plains of India stretching out on the other. It has a road right up to the take off, enough space to topland, a tea shop which serves great lunch, and the possibility to do big cross country flights and of course all this makes it a great place to race paragliders too!!
The village of Bir Billing is an easygoing and relaxed place, the lower part consists of the colourful Tibetan colony, with several beautiful monasteries and a friendly and relaxed Tibetan lifestyle. The higher part of the village consists of the local population, many decedents of the mountain tribe, the Gaddis. The landing field is at five minutes walk from the Tibetan colony, and is at 1300mt. Surrounded by beautiful tea plantations and a relaxed atmosphere Bir Billing is a great place to come down to at the end of your flight.
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