Travel

Bir Billing: How to plan your trip

About Bir Billing

Bir Billing is a small rural village situated in Himachal Pradesh. This quaint little village is quite popular for paragliding. Bir offers a rich bucket of hiking trails, waterfalls, and camping spots. Being home to a Tibetan refugee settlement, this village has numerous monasteries. It also has a large stupa that will take you by awe in all their reds and whites, making your tour very peaceful. Bir-Billing are two different places in the same valley but are doubleton destinations.

One destination is incomplete without another. If you see it from the perspective of paragliding, the take-off site is Billing which is about 2400 m above sea level. Whereas the landing site is Chowgan which is the southern edge of Bir that is 1525 m above sea level. According to the locals it is claimed that the first ever settlement in this city was established by the immigrants of Bengal. This city is so famous for its paragliding that it’s often called the “Paragliding capital of India”. Apart from all these, Bir is also noted as the centre for ecotourism, spiritual studies, and meditation.

Bir Billing Paragliding 

Bir Billing is rightly called as the paragliding capital of india. this place has the best take off and landing sites facilitated by extremely smooth winds. The landing zone has minimum threats of accidents and maximum possibility of quick help making it ideal for this adventure activity. blessed with the best of the climatic conditions for paragliding, Bir Billing has suitable air currents which may be around 6 to 12 m per second of thermals in may-june due to which the flyer would get the perfect uplift which can take him upto the height of 5000 m.  The best time for paragliding here is from March to May and October to November. Although you may visit this place throughout the year. You can consider paragliding, the above-mentioned months are best suited due to better thermals and air currents.

Places to visit in Bir Billing:

Tibetan colony

Tibetan colony is a Tibetan refugee settlement that was built in the 1960s in Chowgan near Bir. This colony houses several Tibetan monasteries which represent the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Sakya traditions. Apart from these, it has a Tibetan handicraft centre, Astronomical Institute, various shops, and cafes. You can also find handicrafts that are sold at reasonable prices and can buy them as a memento. This lane serves as the life of the town with its bustling shops that sell various memos and souvenirs. If you are visiting Bir then you must take a walk through here to understand the place, its people, and its tradition. 

Deer Park institute of Bir

Although the name of the park has the word ‘deer’ in it. Contrary to that, this place has nothing to do with deer. This park was established under the patronage of the Holi Dalai Lama .It is a centre for the study of classical Indian wisdom traditions. This institute is attempting to preserve the spirit of Nalanda. Also it is India’s 1st structured university that aims to teach the practice of Buddhism and classical Indian philosophy along with Indian arts and sciences. There are various meditation workshops, retreats, yoga and healing art, and classical language courses offered to interested students who can get themselves enrolled from around the world.

Sherabling Monastery

This monastery is a huge campus that is spread over 30 acres of pine forest. Being a perfect stir of modernization and tradition, this monastery is a hub of wood carvings, sculpting ancient Buddhist teachings, and the very renowned Thangka art. There also exists a pottery village on the way from Zostel Bir which you can have a trip to by renting a bicycle from the monastery itself. Sherabling Monastery teaches over 500 students on its huge campus.

Other activities to do in Bir Billing 

Bir 360 trek!: One of the best things to do in Himachal is taking the beginner’s trek to Rajgundha valley. This trek will give you the incredible chance of witnessing the scenic views of snow-clad mountains along with the Uhl river cutting through the valley. On this trek, you can get the entire panoramic view of the entire valley of Rajgundha which is why it is named the Bir 360 trek.

Apart from this there are various other things that you can and must experience in this village. Some of them are camping in Billing, having a hike to the hidden waterfall, hiking to the Gunehar river pool, hiking to the Keori village, hang gliding, and paragliding.

Best time to visit Bir Billing

Bir experiences pleasant summers and a little snowfall during the winters. Considering this you can visit Bir Billing throughout the year. But if you ask about the best time to visit, it would be during September and November which is the autumn season. During this time, you will get the perfect balance of warm and chilly temperatures which would let you enjoy your trip to its fullest.

How to reach Bir Billing?

Air: The nearest airport to Bir Billing is Gaggal Airport. It is located at a distance of 68 km from the nearby town, Palampur. This airport is well connected to the capital of the country, Delhi. Some of the other airports that are well connected are Chandigarh and Amritsar airport 

By road: As stated before Bir Billing is 68 km away from Gaggal. 180 km from Manali. 200 km from Shimla. 280 km from Chandigarh. 500 km from Delhi. And just 50 km from Dharamshala. For this, you can use your private vehicle or you can opt for several buses and private services. There are many HRTC Volvo buses available directly from Bir to Delhi.

By railway: The nearest railway station to Bir is only 3 km away which is Ahju Railway station. Another railway station is the Pathankot railway station which is well connected to the country’s major cities.

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