Redefining adventure tourism, a local entrepreneur, Arun Rawat has chipped in with his private venture ‘The Glide Inn’ to develop a first ever paragliding site in Shimla district.

His venture ‘The Glide Inn’, approved by the government under the state government’s policy ‘Nai Manzil, Nai Rahain’ has come up at village Mohal in Junga, around 15 kms from the ‘Queen of Hills’, Shimla as another one-stop tourist destination, beyond Kufri and Narkanda.

“It has taken almost two years to start the venture. We got permission from the state government to start the venture during Covid-19 lockdown. After the lockdown was lifted, we gradually started paragliding recently which is now gaining momentum with online queries and bookings,” said Rawat, Managing Director, The Glide Inn.

“The gliding time during the tandem flight is for an average of 10 to 12 minutes, which depends on wind direction and wind velocity. Since it is a weather based activity, we don’t take any chance if it is not favorable to fly,” he said.

During the flight a paraglider can enjoy the picturesque view of the Shimla city, thick cedar wood forest and mountain peaks dotted with villages and temples, he added.

“In the absence of trained and qualified local pilots, we have recruited them from Bir-Billing in Kangra district, Khajjiar in Chamba district. As passenger safety is our utmost concern we are adhering to the safety standards,” he said, adding that in near future local youths will also be sent for training.

Determination to take forward his passion for the adventure sport had motivated him to complete paragliding ground course and now he intends to pursue successive courses at Bir-Billing.

The project has come up on five acres of land and besides paragliding, the destination for family getaway includes camping, treeventure and trekking as other attractions.

Rawat who is already running an eco-tourism venture Hail Himalayas at Sadhupul, Solan district since last seven years said, “We need to grow and leave our footprints in adventure and eco-tourism, not only to generate employment for the local youth and contribute to the state’s exchequer, but also to sustain the environment concerns.”

It has been 26 years long journey of entrepreneurship, Rawat had decided to take a plunge after completing Metallurgical Engineering from National Institute of Technology, Raipur.

Former Chairman, CII Himachal Pradesh State Council, he has authored a book ‘In pursuit of your passion’ where he shares his experiences and challenges, while treading on the path of entrepreneurship and offers some tips and business ideas.

The book he says, is basically aimed to inspire and motivate especially the youth towards entrepreneurship and become job givers rather than seekers.