In fact most Indian hang gliding and paragliding sites have been highly rated and those in the lower reaches of the Himalayas provide some of the best regions in the world. An international competition has been held at Billing - Himachal Pradesh.

History of Paragliding in India
This sport was introduced in India in 1991-92, when some foreign visiting pilots decided to explore flying possibilities in the Kullu Valley. The sport with its self-advertising nature soon charmed the Valley adventure lovers, who had till then been involved in skiing, trekking and rock climbing. Billing in the Kangra Valley had already been identified as a flying site for hang gliding.

The Kangra and Kullu Valleys witnessed the spreading and development of the sport of paragliding. Over the past few years a small number of outfits have been seen operating in this area. Across the country there would now be 10 to 12 such flying clubs with barely 200-plus known active pilots in the country.

The great Himalayan ranges in the north are the highest in the world and harbour perfect mountain flying conditions. When the winter snow blocks the passes and makes these sunny slopes inhospitable, it is time to gravitate to the western ghats - a rugged mountain range 1500 meters high, meandering southwards along the coast, stretching all the way to the southern point of India. These hills are dotted with ancient Buddhist cave temples and rugged medieval fortresses which often double up as takeoff sites. The Aravalli ranges in Rajasthan - exotic desert country, is perfect for flying, especially when the monsoons descend on the rest of the country. They offer amazing flying possibilities yet unexplored . The craggy hills which protect the beautiful beaches of the west coast and the Nilgiri hills tea growing country famed for their forest reserves in which nestle the favourite hill resorts of Ooty and Kokaikanal are also great flying sites.

Kamshet (Golden Glades)
3 hours from Bombay city by road/rail on the Bombay -Pune route our site, Golden Glades is 12 kilometres away from the station. It is at an altitude of 2,200 feet above sea level. The crescent shaped hills and flat undulating fields provide perfect flying conditions. The weather is pleasant and the huge lake adds to the attraction of the area. It is ideal for basic, intermediate and cross country flying. The topography and temperatures allow both ridge and thermal soaring. The fields at the foot of the hills make for good landings. You do a 15 minute hike to a wide takeoff site, and once airborne you can soar for hours at a time with the vulturesand eagles for company. There are many other unexplored sites within a couple of hoursdistance from here.

Paragliding sites in India

Maharashtra - Panchgani, Matheran, Raigad, Talegaon, Sinhagad (Pune), Panhala (Kolhapur), Murud-Janjira, Bhandardhara, Ajinkyatara (Satara), Amboli, Ratnagiri, and Ganpatipule.

Goa - Anjuna and Arambol beaches

Karnataka - Chamundi hills (Mysore), Nandi hills (Bangalore)

Tamil Nadu - Nilgiri hills (Ooty & Kodaikanal)

Rajasthan - Aravalli hills

Uttar Pradesh - Nainital & Pithoragarh

Himachal Pradesh - Manali, Bilaspur & Billing

Meghalaya - Shillong

Hang Gliding
Popular hang-gliding sites across the country are Billing and Dharamsala in the Kangra Valley, Himachal Pradesh; Shimla and Kasauli, also in Himachal Pradesh; Sinhagad (Pune), Kamshet, Talegaon, Satara, Murud Janjira, in Maharashtra;. Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu; Mhow (Indore) in Madhya Pradesh; the Chamundi Hills (Mysore), and Nandi Hills (Bangalore).

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