My First Ever Thrilling Paragliding Experience!!! An Absolute Must Do.

There are few activities that make it to my bucket-list that don’t get ticked off almost right away but for some reason, though I’d wanted to paraglide for the longest time, I’d not managed to take to the air.

Pokhara, a home to beautiful Himalayas and serene lakes, always mesmerizes everyone with its beauty. I personally, have travelled to this amazing city for more than 8 times and I feel that I have a love affair with Pokhara. The city life in Kathmandu is great but sometimes the bustling crowd and traffic horns are a bit too much. Pokhara is my escape as it is in touch with nature plus it has the sophistication of a city.

The first thing I do after I check into a hotel is rush towards ‘Fewa Lake’. I just love boating there with the views of the Himalayas so bare before my eyes. It is the most relaxing feeling after a long ride to Pokhara and it just feels good to be alive.

When you’re done with boating, you will love the vibrant ‘Lakeside’. It is the main tourist hub with many restaurants and hotels. It comes to life in the evening with live music in most of the restaurants, friendly people, gorgeous dusk.

You can choose to drive to the top or go for a short hike. I didn’t want to walk this time so I drove. It would have been good to get some warm up and then relax floating in the sky but I was too excited. When I reached there the paragliding staffs were already setting things up. I got my briefing on the safety measures and it was time to fly.

When they started gearing me up I almost backed out. The height made me really nervous but it has been one of my dreams to do this and somehow I had to do it. I really tried to hold my fear but my pilot could smell it from far and was smiling the whole time.

Safety is taken very seriously indeed; after all, you’ll be flying at pretty high altitudes. Equipment used by all the commercial operators is top-notch, and the pilots are certified and experienced. My pilot was very nice and he urged me to slowly open my eyes. I intuitively let out a very loud and elated scream. I was actually flying! I wish I could put down in words how I felt, it was so amazing! I don’t think I stopped smiling at any time during the flight. I was so high above the ground, and everything below seemed so small. I was free to fly as a bird and now I know why they call it the “bird’s eye view”.”

Later, I went out for the night with my friends and celebrated my day with cocktails and live music. We partied the whole night and it was the perfect end to my vacation.

The next day, it was time to go home. I wish I could have stayed longer and visited my favorite fish eating spot Pame but I had no time. Pokhara is so amazing and beautiful as always. So, till we meet again – So long Pokhara!!!

Thank you for your time!
@bindu