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Paragliding Comes in the valley
BY PURUSHOTTAM KATTEL, DEC 26 - Nepal is gliders’ paradise.According to Swiss paragliding instructor Herve, Nepal can become a perennial spot for the purest from of flying. Recalling an incident in Dailekh three years ago, he said that the warmth he received from Nepalis motivated him to help promote paragliding here. "While I was landing in Dailekh, a woman came to me and greeted me with a bunch of flowers and ‘Namaskar’.""And bird watching through gilding here is amazing," said Herve. "You only find an eagle in almost one hour ride in Europe, but here hundreds of birds can be seen in a half-an-hour fly." Most importantly, the thermal air pressure and presence of sun is very suitable for paragliding which makes the whole country a paradise for gliding.
Paragliding is all set to allure tourists as this adventure sport is desperately looking for a green light from the government to start it in the Kathmandu valley. Until now, it’s confined to Pokhara, but tourism entrepreneurs are looking forward to launch paragliding in the Kathmandu valley. A demonstration was conducted at Lakuri Bhanjyang - a hill station 20km south from the heart of Kathmandu.
"We are developing paragliding as an adventure sports and I am sure it will allure international as well as local adventure sports lovers," said Puspa Thapaliya, executive director of Mount Monastery Adventure Camp. The camp is waiting for the Civil Aviation Authority’s clearance to air regular paragliding flight from Lakuri Bhanjyang to Lamatar of Lalitpur.
Lakuri Bhanjyang, due to its geographical condition, is an ideal spot to launch paragliding. Thapalia claims that company has some 10 gliding pilots and 20 gliders to jumpstart professional gliding if approved.
"The European paragliding lovers are looking for an off-season gliding venue and we can cash in on the chance," pilot Surya Bastakoti expressed. Bastakoti is a second rated pilot who completed paragliding pilot course in the US. According to him, long (almost five hours) paragliding is impossible in Europe due to weather factor but the constant weather especially from September to June is a gift to Nepal.
Paragliding, according the winner of first Pokhara Paragliding Competition Narayan Parajuli, is a loaded gun that can be fired any time so safety measures is an important factor. "We are opening a paragliders’ club and that club will control all paragliding activities to ensure the safety."Posted on: 2003-12-27 04:22
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