7 Things to Do in Bir Billing, India's Paragliding Capital

Bir, in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district, and Billing, the launch site on the ridge above it, together make up one of the world's best-regarded paragliding destinations, a status confirmed when the Paragliding World Cup was held here in 2015. But Bir is more than a launch pad: a Tibetan refugee settlement, a scattering of monasteries and a set of colonial-era tea gardens give the town a life well beyond the takeoff site. Here are seven ways to spend time there.

1. Tandem paraglide from Billing

Billing, a grassy ridge around 2,400 metres above Bir, is the takeoff point for one of the longest and most consistent paragliding runs in the world, with certified pilots offering tandem flights that descend over pine forest and tea gardens to landing sites near Bir itself; the site's reputation was cemented when it hosted the Paragliding World Cup in 2015.

2. Chokling Monastery

At the centre of Bir's Tibetan colony, Chokling Monastery is a working Nyingma Buddhist monastery built after Tibetan refugees settled the area from the 1960s, its brightly painted halls and resident monks giving Bir a distinctly Tibetan character alongside its Himachali one.

3. Deer Park Institute

A short walk from the monastery, Deer Park Institute is a centre for the study of classical Indian wisdom traditions, running short courses and talks open to visitors on Buddhist philosophy, yoga and related subjects, set in a quiet campus that draws a different, more contemplative crowd than the paragliders overhead.

4. Bir's tea gardens

Bir's lower slopes carry tea gardens first planted in the colonial period, still worked today, their neat rows giving the approach to town a green, terraced backdrop that is easy to miss while looking up at paragliders overhead.

5. Baijnath Temple

A short drive from Bir, the Baijnath Temple is a stone Shiva temple dated to the 13th century, among the older surviving temple structures in this part of Himachal Pradesh, with carved stonework that has survived the region's earthquakes better than many later buildings.

6. Rajgundha and the Billing plateau

Beyond the paragliding takeoff site, the high meadows around Rajgundha village make for a rewarding day trek or overnight camp, reached on foot from Billing through rhododendron forest that opens onto wide, high-altitude grassland with views toward the Dhauladhar range.

7. Barot Valley

An hour or so beyond Bir, Barot is a quieter valley built around a hydroelectric project and a colonial-era trout hatchery still in operation, its river and deodar forest offering a slower counterpoint to Bir's paragliding energy for those with an extra day to spare.

Traveller tips

• Gaggal Airport near Dharamshala, around two hours by road, is the nearest airport; Chandigarh, roughly six hours away, has more frequent flight connections.
• The paragliding season generally runs from October to June, avoiding the monsoon months of July to September when conditions turn unreliable.
• Book tandem flights only with operators certified by the Paragliding Association of India; confirm current safety certification before booking.
• Bir gets cold at night for much of the year; pack layers even when days are warm.