Paragliding in Bir Billing
Billing is the take-off, Chougan is the landing, and the fourteen kilometres of road between them is most of the day. What to expect, and when to come.
Updated
Take-off and landing
You fly from Billing, a meadow at about 2,430 metres, reached by roughly fourteen kilometres of steep road above Bir. You land at Chougan, at about 1,350 metres, in the field beside the Tibetan Colony. That is a vertical kilometre of descent, and on a good day pilots stay up far longer than the drop alone would suggest.
Bir Billing has hosted the Paragliding World Cup, and the site's reputation is not marketing — the combination of a high launch, reliable thermals and a huge safe landing field is genuinely rare.
When to come
The strongest season runs from the first week of October to the middle of December: calm, slightly warm air, and flights running most days. March to May is the second season, greener and busier with longer daylight. Late September is the opening, and can be excellent.
The monsoon, roughly July to early September, is not a flying season. Come then for the green and the quiet, but book the trip around the monasteries and the cafés and treat a flight as a bonus.
How the day actually goes
- You are told a pick-up time, usually mid-morning. Assume it will move — the pilots are watching the wind, not the clock.
- A shared jeep takes you up to Billing. The road is steep and rough in places; take a jacket, it is meaningfully colder at the top.
- You wait. Everyone waits. This is the part nobody photographs.
- The flight itself is a tandem with a licensed pilot. Standard flights run roughly 15 to 20 minutes; longer 'cross-country' flights of 30 to 45 minutes cost more and need better conditions.
- You land at Chougan and walk back into the village.
Cost, and what to check
Prices move with the season and the flight length; the short tandem flight is the cheaper option and the longer one is typically two to three times that. Video is almost always an extra.
Two things worth checking before you pay: that your pilot is licensed, and that the operator is insured. Ask directly. Anyone legitimate will answer immediately, and anyone who bristles at the question has told you what you needed to know.
Keep a spare day
The single most common way to leave Bir disappointed is to arrive on Saturday morning with a flight booked for Saturday afternoon and a bus home on Sunday. Weather cancels flights constantly and without warning. Three nights gives you two real chances; two nights gives you one.
If you are staying with us, tell us the day you want to fly and we'll book you with a pilot and sort the ride up to Billing — and if it blows out, we'll move it.
