One morning we were sitting outside at Cafe Coffee Day admiring the view when a paraglider went soaring past, quite close. We'd seen signs advertising
paragliding, but seeing that one go by really caught my interest. Without any other major plans for our last day in Darjeeling we decided to give it a try. Another time we had done tandem hang gliding at the sea cliffs at La Jolla, California and really enjoyed it. And Darjeeling's hilltop position seemed ideal for it.
We picked the perfect day. Normally it's clear first thing but by mid-morning the clouds roll in and obscure the views. But today for some reason there were almost no clouds and so we got great views of Kanchenjunga looming to the north.
We got picked up by our two young cool dude type pilots and drove to the top of a hill just south of town. We launched off a short grassy slope that dropped off steeply just below us. We flew for about 15 minutes, getting some lift off the side of the ridge. You get a great perspective on the town and how it's molded around the hills and ridges, and what a maze the buildings and roads form.
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| almost ready to launch |
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| our hotel |
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| Shelley happy to back on solid ground |
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