Paragliding in Panchkula! How Haryana’s Morni Hills will become new adventure destination, details here

The state of Haryana could soon add one of the biggest tourist attractions to its kit in the form of paragliding activity. Recently the first ever two paragliding test flights were conducted at the Morni Hills in the Panchkula district of the state to explore the potential of introducing the paragliding activity in the region, the Indian Express reported. In order to gauge the possibility of one of the most exciting and thrilling activities in the region, the test flights were conducted by the team of professional gliders of the Border Security Force (BSF). The team of the BSF personnel who are posted at the BSF Adventure School in Dehradun had arrived at Panchkula district to conduct the test flights. The trials were undertaken under the tutelage of the Shivalik Development Board, which is responsible for the development of the whole lower Himalayan region.

At present Manali district in Himachal, Rishikesh district in the state of Uttarakhand are some of the best famous sites for paragliding activities due to their climate and topographical conditions and development of a solid tourism infrastructure in the region.

The BSF personnel commenced their test flights from the hilly village of Bhori at Morni which is situated at an altitude of 4000 ft from the sea level and descended at the Palasara village which is situated in the plane area topography of the state. It is pertinent to note that the Morni hills is the sole hilly region in the otherwise plains-dominated state and introducing the paragliding activity as a tourist sport could boost tourism prospects of the region immensely as the residents from the state presently have to go to neighbouring Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand states to take part in paragliding.

The Morni hills share their boundary with the Sirmour district of Himachal Pradesh and lie in close vicinity to the Panchkula, Yamunanagar and Ambala districts of the state. The BSF team led by Inspector Ajay Singh Adhana conducted a feasibility study of the region for about four days before embarking on the first paragliding test flights from the region. In addition to the starting point from village Bhori, the team has identified four other spots in the region which could become the launching pads for the paragliding sport. However, the direction and speed of the wind will also play a critical role to launch the paragliding activity.

Mahesh Kumar Singla, who is the Executive Vice-Chairman of the Shivalik Development Board told the Indian Express that the Morni hills have the potential to kickstart small scale paragliding activity and other adventure tourism and the introduction of the paragliding activity of small scale could also boost development and job prospects in the region. Singla also said that the BSF personnel who conducted the trials found the location perfect for starting short period paragliding activity. However, Singla added that good wind speed will be an indispensable condition to undertake the activity.