When I was a kid, I always wanted to have a bird’s-eye view of the world in which we live. Airplanes did give me a glimpse; however it used to last for just about a minute till we were among the clouds. That’s when few years back I got introduced to Paragliding and I decided to give it a try. However due to several reasons trying it never worked out. Plans got delayed due to other commitments or something or the else happened due to which it never worked out. But recently, I got an opportunity to fly high up in the sky at Pawna Lake.
Pawna Lake is situated in Lonavla district of Maharashtra, and it turns out to be one of the weekend destinations for people living in Mumbai & Pune. This lake is surrounded by the Sahyadri ranges on all the sides making it an ideal spot for various adventure activities and camping. Not only this, they even teach paragliding to people who are interested to learn this adventure sport.
HOW TO REACH:
Pawna lake lies along the Mumbai-Pune expressway. To reach the lake from Mumbai, one needs to take the second exit on the left to Lonavala. The road is quite narrow and almost hard to find due to lack of signboards. Hence, people tend to miss that particular turn and go ahead. Therefore, if you think that you might miss the turn, you can take the normal lonavala exit and head towards Pawna Lake. This route might be a little longer, but is much more convenient than taking a U-turn on the expressway.
AN INTRO ABOUT PARAGLIDING:
Paragliding is a wind dependent activity and the weight of a person is directly related to the force of the wind. In other words, the higher the force, the higher weight it can carry, subject to the limit of 95 kg. And so it’s a matter of sheer luck if one gets an opportunity to fly or not (I was lucky in this matter 😀 ). Each person has a pilot who is responsible to give you a supreme flying experience. And one has to just sit back, chill and take in all the amazing view that this wonderful nature has to offer.
MY EXPERIENCE AT PAWNA LAKE:
When we reached Pawna Lake, we had to wait till late afternoon for paragliding to begin. Meanwhile we had our lunch, and engaged ourselves into playing cricket, hula hooping and zorbing. Yes there are many more things to do here like rifle-shooting etc. One can find these activities near the Pawna Lake. Soon after, the pressure of the wind started to increase, we had set off for the main purpose with which we had arrived at Pawna Lake. Paragliding.
On reaching the hill-top, the volunteers noted our weights and I was the first one in the line. On getting harnessed, and on taking off (which hardly took another 5 mins) I was in the air, feeling like a bird. The view from high up was surreal with mountains around and houses below your feet. And people, trees & other things seemed like ants. The mountains grew shorter, and I grew taller. Now I surely know how a bird feels when they fly. The entire flight lasted for 10 mins. On landing, I was spellbound and speechless. No combination of 26 alphabets was enough to describe what I exactly felt. After-all, this is the magic nature can cast on us humans.
It was a top-notch experience, definitely cannot be described into words but only can be felt. They were one the best 10 minutes of my lifetime.
I got to paraglide in Acapulco, Mexico and it was a blast!! Looks like you had an awesome time and saw some killer views!
Yeah ! It was one hell of an experience! 😀
This looks like an amazing experience to e had and the views over the lake looks amazing. 🙂 I never tried paraglading but wish to do this one day.
I always wanted to try out paragliding, but never done it! It looks so fun! And the view of Pawna lake is simply awesome! Thanks for sharing this!
I tried Paragliding and Austria and I fell in love with it. True that, birds eyeview is a really awesome view. I will for sure do this again.
This looks like a fun day! I would love to try paragliding! Lucky you!
Never really thought about this. This seem like a great spot to try out paragliding.
I love Paragliding – such a thrill to be soaring through the air! Pawna Lake sounds like quite the location for adventure seekers – love that there’s zorbing and other activities to keep you busy while you wait!
Oh my this looks so fun and thrilling! I dont know if I can do it but Im sure I can name a few people who would love to do this!
Para gliding is indeed an exhilarating experience. The few minutes that you soar high up in the sky like a bird is an experience that remains etched in memory for a long time. I was not aware that Pawna lake near Lonavala, is a place for paragliding, hope to do this amazing activity when next time in those parts.
This is so cool! I wish I could do this why I’m still able. This is so amazing. I admire you for being brave.