Paragliding Adventure in Pokhara, Nepal
Hello Steemians!
After doing the Everest Base Camp trek in Nepal, I decided to head over to Pokhara because along the way everyone told me it was so beautiful there I couldn't miss it. So when I got back to Kathmandu I booked the bus for 700Rs. each way and headed out. As soon as I arrived I realized what everyone was talking about, it is a beautiful city and the part I stayed in was right on the side of Phewa Lake. There are tons of tourist activities in Pokhara but after talking to people in the hostel I was told the one to beat was paragliding.
Where to Go
As you walk up and down Lakeside road you will see dozens upon dozens of stalls and shops advertising tandem paragliding and paragliding lessons. It is a bit overwhelming and can be difficult to choose which one will be the best and safest option. After doing a little research I chose Blue Sky Paragliding because they have been around for quite a few years and all their pilots have their APPI certification. This is not to say others don't have certification but it is best to err on the side of caution when it comes to this sort of activity. The average price to paraglide in Pokhara varies from 7000Rs to 10,000Rs and usually about 1500Rs for GoPro videos/pictures.
Get ready for a Nepali massage...
On the morning I went they picked me up at my hotel in a Mahindra Bolero(4x4) and we stopped at the other hotels and picked up all the other flyers. After we had everyone, we picked up the pilots at the office and were off to Sarangkot, a village at the top of the mountain where we would launch from. On the ride one of the pilots explained everything to us and said the ride would take 40 minutes and was very bumpy so get ready for a Nepali massage. They were not kidding, I have to say the guy behind the wheel was an incredible driver, he flew around blind corners with pure confidence and handled traffic like a pro. But once you get higher in the mountain, the road begins to deteriorate and the ride becomes incredibly bumpy, I was sitting in the back with 2 chinese guys and we all kept falling off the seats and laughing as we flew over the road to our destination.
When I say go, RUN!
Once we finally reached the top, we had to walk up to the launch point, where there are dozens of people milling around waiting to launch. I was broken off from the group and sent with a pilot who was already at the top when we got there and was almost ready to launch, his chute was laid out and he was geared up. He helped me into the tandem harness and we got ready for launch; the launch area is a steep downhill slope with tall grass at the bottom. He told me "When I say go, RUN!", so we waited as another guy got the chute in the air and then he said go and we ran maybe 5 steps and we were off.
Once your in the air you slip back and are in a somewhat comfortable seated position with your legs dangling out in front of you. We crossed over a lot of houses and forest and were heading for the Pokhara paragliding playground, which is a thermal (pocket of rising wind) on the other side of the mountain. Once there you can go round and round in circles and get stunning views of the surrounding mountain ranges, the city, and Lake Phewa. We spent about 30 minutes flying around before it was time to land. My pilot guided us effortless down to a landing strip next to the lake and brought us in for a nice soft landing and we stripped off all the gear. I hopped in a Bolero and headed back to the office to get my pictures/video. All in all it was a great experience and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to have a little high flying adventure.
I made my first Dtube post of a short 40 second video of the flight that you can check out!
Check Out My Recent Posts
Rock Climbing Lava Cliffs in Ecuador
TTW Travels #1 - My Accidental Participation in a Malaysian Protest
TTW Must Read Books #1 - Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Exploring the Caves Around Vang Vieng, Laos
My friend . I just seen your pics. I am passionate about skydiving. If you ever wanna visit India and participate Himalaya skydiving adventure competition. Your welcome. Hope you will also like my work.
I will check out your posts! I would love to do something like that, where in India does it take place?
Awesome! Jumping with a parachute is on my list too, can't wait to feel the adrenaline by my own :)
Ya it was pretty amazing and the price was fair but I was super jealous of the pilots because the thermals around the mountain could carry them for hours. Do you have any plans where you want to try it?
In my country as I never was abroad. But it's damn expensive
Ya no doubt, when I was home in Canada everything fun to do cost a small fortune. The one thing I regret was not taking a hot air ballon ride(its on my list) in Laos, but I'm building a trip plan to do it in Egypt because I am yold its very cheap there
Yeah, that's on my list too. It's just that in my country those kind of activities are damn expensive so they must wait until I can afford them :(
Congratulations, Your Post Has Been Added To The Steemit Worldmap!
Author link: http://steemitworldmap.com?author=travelstheworld
Post link: http://steemitworldmap.com?post=paragliding-adventure-in-pokhara-nepal
Want to have your post on the map too?
This post has received gratitude of 0.97 % from @appreciator thanks to: @travelstheworld.