Month: November 2012

Sikkim witnessed its first ever hike and fly paragliding adventure expedition. Delhi based Travel Photo Journalist PARVIN SINGH follows a team of paragliders on an expedition to Nepal-Sikkim border in West Sikkim and records how they made their first big leap in the air at 12,000ft. “Well done, you’ve made it!” A group of paragliders- local and international – cheered me as I reach kalijar, showing my tent for the night pitched at 12,000 ft along the Nepal- Sikkim border. It wasn’t an easy task to trek with the professional paragliding pilots, not at least for a non-trekker like me from Delhi,to make that steep ascent in the mountains within a matter af seven hours. Yet the idea to trek to Phoktay Dara from Uttray in sikkim’s West District, upon completion of the first international Paragliding festival in Gangtok, was novel-to witness the pilots take off from an altitude of 12,000-ft and sail over the amazingly laid 360 degree view of Mt Khangchendzonga and Mt Everest, and then see them plunge into the plains of Jorthang, a town on the bank of river Rangeet. Just as the festival got over on November 3, the Sikkim paragliding society’s three important men raju rai, Arjun Rai and Santosh Rai completed all paper formalities and with logistic support from Sikkim tourism Department led an expedition team to reach the highest point along the Nepal-sikkim border. The team comprised of experienced Canadian pilot, James M Orava, expert pilot cum Editor of Cross County Magazine (XC Mag), International free flying magazine - Ed Ewing, Sr instructor, Indus paragliding, Kamsket -  Sanjay Pendurkar, Raju Rai, Arjun rai of Sikkim paragliding society and me. We reached Uttarey on November 4 at dusk,after hours of battling with the pot-holed roads,some things adventurous at the start of the trip.