Our tour starts with the pickup at Mumbai
airport. Across dense and busy traffic we sort out our
way downsouth towards Pune. Getting to Kamshet takes
about two hours by vehicle. Away from the main roads
and the noisy, bustling life we soon find ourselves
amidst a beautiful and peaceful setting at Golden Glades
where we reach the base for our first Flying experience
at the Lodge of Nirvana Paragliding above the shore
of a lake and surrounded by flyable hills and Table
Mountains. This is our place for Day 1 to Day 5.
We enjoy the garden and magnificent views and the hospitality
of this guesthouse and we'll meet other pilots from
different countries.
During the stay at Nirvana we are on full board and
while flying the kitchen staff will be busy with cooking
all sorts of Indian specialties!
After breakfast we have the usual briefings and get
transport to the choosen destinations such as Tower
Hill or Shelar. The later is a magic spot for sunset
flying while Tower Hill is an excellent training ground
into two different directions plus provides a good base
for Cross country flights! We can also visit Uksan Hill,
the closest take off from Golden Glades, but it requires
half an hour of walking.
On day 5 we get our transfer to the main highway and,
passing Pune, we reach the Western Ghats crossing a
saddle. Here the road turns off and climbs up to our
new destination, the village of Panchgani, situated
on a Table Mountain, just below of the top. On a terrace
of its southern flank we find our accommodation, André's
Ecocamp, after 3 hrs of driving. André, the friendly
Canadian owner and himself a paraglider pilot, is a
very competent and helpful person and will drive us
to the different launches.
The Ecocamp itself is a quite unusual place. A mere
campsite at first glance it provides either well equipped
beds in big open tents in a dormitory style or, if needed,
limited double rooms in a nearby brick house.
We enjoy the market town of Panchgani and the different
take offs such as Harrison's Folly where you launch
at sunset with a mild breeze below of the town and land
above it on the flat table top, just to walk back for
10 minutes to get to dinner in downtown!
Day 5 to 8 is dedicated to Panchgani and surroundings.
Day 9 is our transfer day to Goa and it is a long journey.
But it is never boring in this exotic environment. In
our case we use the train and reach Goa on Day,10, in
the morning!
Day 10: Transfer to Arambol, our beachsite and Flying
place where we spent the remaining time. The take off
is a 25 minutes walk from our guest house on the beach!
Funflying and Relax!
Day 13, transfer to Goa Airport, evening flight to
Mumbai.
Day 14, return (international) from Mumbai airport.
Whilst every effort is made to keep to the above itinerary,
this is adventure travel in a mountain region. It is
likely that there will be changes in the itinerary in
terms of anything from the exact hotel used to the villages
we may stop in for the night. Weather conditions, road
conditions, vehicle breakdowns can all contribute to
changes. |
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