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Recently one of my friends asked if I know about Bir Billing and when I said 'yes', she was very surprised. And I was amazed to hear that none of her friends had heard of this name. Of course, Bir Billing is not such a popular tourist destination but definitely a must-go place for Adventure lovers, and specially for folks who want to have a great paragliding experience. Now the conversation started that she wants to visit Bir Billing with her friends.
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She has 3 days to spend around Bir Billing, excluding travel time. I will take this example to plan this trip and then would also share some inputs for folks who want to plan 2 days/weekend trip to Bir Billing.
She is taking a train to Pathankot from Delhi and the train will reach Pathankot on Saturday Morning and the return journey is on the night train on Monday. So effectively we have Saturday, Sunday and Monday to explore this region of Himalayan State.
Planning 3 days trip is very optimal, especially when you are going to this part of the state from Delhi. There are plenty of interesting options around Bir Billing to explore.
Bir Billing not a frequently visited place in this reigon of Himachal Pradesh. Mostly Paragliding lovers visit this place or religious followers, as there are various Monasteries nearby.
Now getting back to the main point, here is the travel plan I suggest for folks who want to visit Bir Billing and have 3 days -
1. After deboarding at Pathankot, one can plan to visit Mcleodganj and spend one night here. Mcledoganj is a very special experience, which shouldn't be missed.
2. There are adventure agencies, who can plan Paragliding experience for groups at Bir Billing. But it would be recommended to book paragliding before reaching the place because it may cost more when you are there. At the same time, it may be cheaper as you have multiple folks to negotiate with. So do appropriate research before going there and take appropriate call.
3. So on second day, you can plan to go to Bir Billing to experience Paragliding. Chamunda Temple, Palampur & Baijnath are a few places where you may want to take a halt when going to Bir Billing.
4. In my opinion, apart from Paragliding there is not much to do at Bir Billing. So I would recommend visiting Barot to stay for a night. This is only recommended if you have a car with you. Bus connectivity is not that great. Although, you may figure out bus timings which fits to your time schedule.
5. If you plan to go to Barot for a night stay, don't miss the Trout farm in the village and try trout fish, if you are ok with non-veg food. While coming back, chauntra town comes on the way and Dzongsar Monastery is another must-visit place.
6. If you want to skip Barot, find a good place around Bir Billing and while staying there you may want to try other adventure activities such as Rock Climbing, Rappelling, River crossing. But all that is so common in any hill station that these are not worth the time you spend at destination like Bir. Rather, have some walks around the place and know more about the local culture or visit some of the monasteries in the vicinity.
7. On the final day, while driving back to Pathankot to catch the train, you may plan to stop at Shiva Temple at Baijnath and Neugal Cafe at Palampur.
At the end I know that it's not an easy decision, especially when so much is there to explore. Please feel free to drop your specific questions through comments and we would love to provide appropriate details.
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