Sheltered by the mountains and surrounded by tea gardens, Bir a small village with a Tibetan Colony and monasteries in Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh; serves as a landing ground and a base for Hang and Para gliders. Their launching (take-off) destination 'Billing', is a little meadow at 2,400m (8500 ft) on the Dhauladhar ranges, 14-km up from Bir. This meadow one of the wonders of nature, perfectly designed as a launch pad, has become a legend on the international paragliding circuits and a destination for World Champion Paraglider pilots. The meadow directly above the villages of Bir and Chaugan, is one of the best gliding sites in the world.

The massive Dhauladar mountain range and the Kangra valley below with its panoramic views offer opportunities for high altitude 'up and down' and 'cross-country' flying for more than 200-km. The Dhauladar range runs from Dalhousie in the North West of the state, in a curving arc south-east to Mandi. Billing lies roughly midway between Dharamsala and Mandi and to the south west of Manali and Kulu valley.

From Billing, the range runs all the way to Dharamsala, separating the Kangra valley from Champa. To the north of the meadow is the high peaks and to the south the plains. The fall from the meadow is about one kilometre and an average straight TTB ( top to bottom) flight to the Chaughan landing area lasts for about 25-30 minutes. If the conditions (like weather, wind speed and direction, cloud base of 4000-5000m etc) are right, one can make a 'Cross Country' distance flight from Billing to Manali or Billing to Dharamsala (90km). The flying is generally 'ridge-hopping' ie. getting lift from the ridges or cliff edges running down from the main spine of the range. 'Ridge lifts' caused by wind hitting a hillside and 'Thermals' (columns of hot air) are used by the glider to rise higher. Thermalling is an essential skill for flying in Billing. In Billing, thermals are found on a regular basis over a temple hence called the 'Thermal Devta', halfway down the eastern spur running down to Bir. The temple can be identified from the air by a red ribbon tied to a tree top. In the Billing - Dharamsala flight route there are 15 or so ridges. You can have the company of the Huge Himalayan Griffin Vultures during flight. Billing is also easily top- landable.

Billing is renowned the world over for having the distinction of organizing the very first Paragliding competition according to the rules of Federation Aeronautique International. The Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Government of Himachal Pradesh will be organising the 'Para Gliding Pre world Cup' at Billing- Bir in the month of October 2003. It is also 'the place' for Hang gliding and Para Sailing. Every May, an annual Himalayan Hang Gliding Rally is organised at Billing. Aero sports club at Bir and Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department ( Phone: 91-177-223959, Email: tourism@hp.nic.in ) gives assistance.

Agra
Ahmedabad
Ahmednagar
Ajmer
Alappuzha
Aligarh
Alwar
Ambala
amboli
Amritsar
Andaman and nicobar islands
Anjuna
Aurangabad
Bangalore
Barot
Berhampur
Bhagsunag
Bhattarika
Bhavnagar
Bhopal
Bhubaneswar
Bhuj
Bijapur
Bikaner
Bir Billing
Bodh gaya
Bombay
Calangute
Calcutta
Calcutta
Candolim
Chaggu/Tsomgo Lake
Chandaneshwar
Chandigarh
Chandikol
Chennai
Chilika
Chinmaya
Chittoor
Chittorgarh
Choudwar
Churachandpur
Colva
Cuddapah
Cuttack
Dalhousie
Damoh
Darjeeling
Deev
Delhi
Dharamsala
Digha
Dombivli
Eluru
Gandhidham
Gangtok
Gurgaon
Gurgaon
Guwahati
Hadapsar
Hampi
Haridwar
Hoshangabad
Hyderabad
Imphal
Itanagar
Jagtial
Jaipur
Jaisalmer
Jajpur
Jalgaon
Jammu
Jodhpur
Joginder Nagar
Junput
Kandla
Kangra
Karimnagar
Kavaratti
Kaziranga
Kendrapara
Khajjiar
Khajuraho
Khammam
Khodad
Khongjom
Kochi
Kodaikanal
Kolhapur
Kollam
Konark
Konkan Coast
Kothagudem
Kottayam
Kovalam
Kozhikode
Kullu
Kurnool
Leh
Lonavala
Lucknow
Ludhiana
Mahabaleshwar
Mahabalipuram
Manali
Mandi
Manikaran
Mannargudi
Mao
Mapusa
Margao
Matheran
Mcleodganj
Mizoram
Modhera
Moirang
morbi
Mt Abu
Mumbai
Mundakayam
Munnar
Mysore
Nagaland
Nagpur
Nalgonda
Naraj
Nashik
Nawanshahr
Nelakondapalli
Nellore
Niali
Old Goa
Ooty
Ottapalam
Palakkad
Palampur
Palolim
Paloncha
Pampady
Panaji
Panchgani
Panpur
Paradeep
Pathankot
Patnitop
Payyanur
Pelling
Periyar
Pondicherry
Pong Dam Lake Ramsar Sanctuary
Pongdam
Puri
Pushkar
Raipur
Rajsamand
Ratnagiri-Lalitgiri
Rourkela
Sambalpur
Sanchi
Sariska National Park
Sathupalli
Shankarpur
Shimla
Shirdi
Siolim
Sirpur
Sriganganagar
Srikakulam
Srinagar
Sujanpur
Surat
Tapola
Tawang
Tekkali
Tellicherry
Tengnoupal
Thanjavur
Thiruvananthapuram
Tiracol
Tiruparankundram
Tripura
Triund
Udaipur
Udayagiri
Udham Singh Naga
Ukhrul
Ulhasnagar
Vadodara
Vaijapur
Vaishnodevi
Varanasi
Varkala
Vijayanagaram
Visakhapatnam
Warangal
West Godavari