Trying Paragliding for the First Time – Was It Worth ?


Trying paragliding was honestly a wholesome yet unexpected experience for me. As far as I remember, we did it in Dharamshala when I was pretty young. It was a family-friends trip, and originally, I had zero plans of voluntarily throwing myself off a cliff while attached to some fabric. I mean, I love my life, and I don’t particularly enjoy risking it just for the thrill. But, as fate (and peer pressure) would have it, things didn’t go according to my safe plan.

It all started with my sister and her friend deciding to do it. Cool, good for them. Then my sister went first—great, she survived. Then her friend went—still alive. But then, kids younger than me started going too, and suddenly, my existence felt weak. No one directly forced me, of course (because my dad knows me well enough to not even try), but my sister’s friend’s parents, in their infinite wisdom, decided to throw in the classic "It’ll be fun! You should try new things!" (Side note: they never tried it themselves—so easy to give motivational speeches when you’re standing comfortably on solid ground, huh?)

So, after some serious self-gaslighting, I gathered my so-called confidence, stepped out of my comfort zone, and let them strap me in. And let me tell you—I was shaking. As they put on all the safety belts, my brain was in full "abort mission" mode. Dude, this is a bad idea. We can still walk away from this. No shame in being ALIVE, right? But before I could dramatically escape, the instructor casually said, "Okay, we’re going to jump now, be ready." Oh, right. Because jumping off a cliff is totally normal.

Then, he handed me a camera. A CAMERA. As if I needed another responsibility while dealing with my potential last moments. I was like, Sir if this thing falls, it’s not on me, but before I could argue, they connected it properly, and well—we jumped.

And oh my god. The view. Dharamshala is already gorgeous, but seeing it from the air? Unreal. The mountains, the valleys, the feeling of floating—it was like being in a dream (a slightly panic-inducing dream, but still). It was surprisingly peaceful, like flying without actually having to do any of the work. For a moment, I was like, Okay, maybe this was worth the stress.

But the best part? My sister and her friend had NO IDEA I was doing this. Not even I knew I was doing this. So, when I saw them from the sky, their reactions were priceless. My sister looked shocked beyond belief, and after I landed (not so gracefully), she immediately started making fun of me. I mean, I deserved it—my landing was a whole disaster.

Instead of an effortless, smooth arrival, I pretty much crashed into the ground like an out-of-control paper aeroplane. It wasn’t painful, but it was definitely embarrassing. The instructor tried to tell me what to do, but honestly, my brain had already checked out. So, while others landed like graceful birds, I pretty much rolled onto the ground like a dramatic Bollywood action scene. 

Would I do it again? HELL NO. I was fine until I started reading news reports about paragliding accidents. Nope, I’m good. That one experience was enough for a lifetime. 😭

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