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Riding the warm
thermal currents of the air is perhaps the closest man has
ever come to sailing the skies as free as a bird. Almost at
will, you dip and wheel high over the hills and valleys.
Gliding is the
latest aero sport in In dia.
Following places are ideal for gliding. Srinagar valley (Jammu
and Kashmir), Kangra, Dharamsala, Shimla and Kasuli (Himachal
Pradesh), the entire Western Ghats, including Pune (Mharastra),
the Nilgiri hills (Tamil Nadu), Indore (Madhya Pradesh), the
Chamundi hills and areas around Bangalore, Mysore (Karnataka)
and Shillong (Meghalaya).
Most India’s
Para Gliding sites have been highly rated, and those in the
lower reaches of the Himalayas may provide the best regions in
the World.
India, with its
vast Himalayan ranges and of clean blue skies, is an ideal
paragliding country offering gliding for nearly the whole year
at different sites. Para - gliding is the latest aero sport.
The origin of the sport dates back to 1940 when an aviation
pioneer, Dr. Francis Rogallo filed for a patent for his
flexible Delta Kite. However, in early 1980s parachutes were
foot-launched regularly from hills. Since then, this sport has
been rapidly expanding.
A para glider
is a specially designed square parachute along with a harness
attached by lines and is made of ripstop nylon which is
specially coated with polyurethane to ensure zero porosity.
The para-gliding canopy is made of non-porous material (like
ripstop nylon or polyester) which lets no air pass through it.
Its lines are most important part, made of strong material
called Kevlar, these control lines lets the pilot maneuver the
movements.
A
para-glider weighs roughly 6 -7 kilos can be
folded into a back pack, can be packed and unpacked in about 8
-10 minutes. While Para Gliding has only just been introduced
to India, several sites have already been identified by the
experts, and those that merit note are the Srinagar valley in
Jammu and Kashmir, Kangra, Dharamsala, Shimla and Kasauli in
Himachal Pradesh, the entire western ghats, including Pune, in
Maharastra, the Nilgiri hills in Tamil Nadu, Indore in Madhya
Pradesh, the Chamundi hills and areas around Bangalore, Mysore
in Karnataka and Shillong in Meghalaya. Most Para Gliding
sites in India have been highly rated, and those in the lower
reaches of the Himalayas may provide the best regions in the
World.
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