Bir, a small village located in the Kangra Valley of Indian Himalayas, has become increasingly famous in the past years for paragliding and adventure activities. The village has an atypical topography - endless gentle fields surrounded by the mighty Dhauladhar mountains towards the North, make for a sudden change in elevation (~1000m D+). This is why Bir-Billing is widely known as the second best site for paragliding in the world.
Route description - The route basically goes uphill from Bir village to the take off site at Billing. Starting at the checkpoint for cars on the road just above main Bir chowk, the trail intersects the road leading upto Billing at 4 points before finally reaching the final and 5th road intersection at Billing take off site. The trail goes through the dense Rhododendron forest for almost its entirety. Covered with loose rocks and heaps of dried leaves, it is not always a clear and direct trail. Someone trying the FKT is encouraged to take the shortest way up in order to make some time. It is a short, fast and high intensity route almost mimicking a VK.
