Paragliding Tour in Sikkim

Paragliding in Sikkim is one of the favorite Adventure Sports for Tourist who wants to go for thrilling experience. Sikkim is turning out to be one of the hot spots for the adventure sport in the country due to excellent launching sites and ridges. Sikkim has a Paragliding Paradise with its views and its graphical location. A Chakung 45 minute drive from Jorthang is the Takeoff point and ride is for 20-30 minutes and it is one of the longest commercial paragliding flights available in India. The flight gives you a bird eyes view of River Rangit, Jorethang town and panoramic view of the Surrounding landscapes and after 30 minutes landing of flight base in on the Banks of River Rangit. To boost Adventure Tourism in Sikkim, the Department of Tourism, Government of Sikkim has introduced commercial paragliding flights. Tourists can take an aerial view of the sights during the flights between Thamidara Village and Reshithang Sports Village in East Sikkim district. Equipments essential for Paragliding include a glider that can resist the thermal currents, a harness which binds the Para-glider safely with the pilot. The glider should be designed in such a way that it can be released quickly after landing of the pilot. Other equipments require are a helmet, a reserve parachute and a barometer to gauge the ascent or descent of the glider. Those who cannot afford the equipment or do not have the time to get the gliding training, they can enjoy the aero sport in a Tandem Glider with an experienced pilot.

Paragliding in Sikkim provides an unforgettable experience. An annual Paragliding festival is also organized in the state to promote the sport. There are many places where the paragliding takes place by different organizations. Baliman Dara and Bulbuley Dara are two places in Gangtok which helps tourists in paragliding. Government of Sikkim have initiated the Paragliding Sports in Sikkim past many years, Initially the Pilots of today were sent to get training in various Paragliding schools of India in Manali, Himachal Pd and also in Pune in Maharastra. Later when they came back to the state some of them went back to the same areas to learn more and become trained pilots for Solo and Tandem Flights and some went to Nepal, where they got more training and became professional trained Tandem Pilots. Today most of them have come back to Sikkim and have started doing the paragliding sports in Sikkim through a registered organization from the Government of Sikkim. Sikkim registered 6,000 paragliding tourists in the past three years and the number is increasing steadily each year. The state gained popularity among the paragliding community after the successful organisation of first Sikkim Paragliding Festival at Bulbuley Dara in 2012. Around 60 Indian and international paragliding pilots took part in various events like free flying, spot landing contest, acro show and tandem flights, during the four-day festival. At present, Sikkim has more than 35 qualified commercial pilots who are conducting paragliding sessions at the backdrop of mountain ranges in its three paragliding sites at Bulbuley Dara, Ranka and Chakung, Tourism Minister Bhim Prasad Dhungel said. The state government plans to encourage around 500 youths to join paragliding sports by developing two more modern sites at Yumthang and Soren with world class facilities. A new paragliding route from Phoktey Dara (along Indo-Nepal border) and Dentam has also been identified.