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nirvana > site gallery : write-ups by visiting pilots
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Write-ups by visiting pilots
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Rob De Velliers Roue – South Africa
Rob has been flying since 1992 and and holds the height record 4898 meters above sea level in Kwa-Zulu Natal province, S.A. He is now based in Oludeniz Babadag Turkey.
 On the Tower Hill site at Kamshet: "a nice site with more potential probably the same as some of the best sites in the world. A lot of open fields, lakes and beautiful views therefore a great place to learn and progress without getting bored.
 Brilliant for cross-country flying again for mixed ability, could easily become a world record site. You can fly there everyday with the two prevailing winds - the mountain is perfectly situated for this.
Accommodation is great with cottages on the lake - the vehicles hired well run and maintained - the best for concentrating on flying with no additional worries. Nirvana will go from strength to strength because it caters for all abilities and needs, good equipment, tuition and making one feel very much at home and relaxed.”
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Kenneth Pelander – Finland
 Having learnt to fly in Sweden a couple of years ago I decided to go to India to celebrate the Millenium and catch up on some good flying. I landed up at Anjuna Beach Goa and unhappy with the flying there I got in touch with Nirvana Adventures who nudged me in the direction of Arambol Beach at the northern most tip of Goa. Here I met many pilots from India and all over  the world. Sanjay Rao told me about the flying in Bangalore and I hooked up with Jon Garton an Australian pilot and together we traveled south. Flying at Nandi Hills made us feel like gods as the people around rushed out of their homes to look at the white men with wings. From Bangalore we met up with the entire Arambol gang at Kamshet the location of the Indian National Championship. When I left Scandinavia I had logged 12 hours in two years. When I said goodbye to Shelar, Sanjay and the gang at Kamshet a month later I had clocked 47 hours and was rearing to fly in the big mountains. Next stop Manali and the Himalayas. One thing’s for certain, I’m coming back for more
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Jeff Tremblay – Canadian living in Hong Kong
Weekends in Kamshet
Over the past ten days, I was in the Bombay area for work. Fortunately, this period covered two weekends which I spent in the care of Sanjay Rao of Nirvana Adventures.
 Speaking from the viewpoint of an intermediate pilot with about 275 flights flown at about 25 sites in about 10 countries, I'd say that the flying there was excellent. The last time I enjoyed flying so much was in California in August 1998 when I flew 25 hours in one week. There are many easily accessible sites, most of them never tried or flown just a few times. I had a delightful 1-hour flight yesterday at a place that was flown for the first time only 2weeks ago.
Sanjay is a master organizer. He arranged transportation from Bombay, accommodation  by a quiet lake near the flying site. Food was excellent, bed was comfortable (sleeping out on the balcony with the sound of crickets), costs were low. In any case, it came as close as I can think to paradise.
From what I saw, the pilots at the Kamshet site fly mostly the restitution which takes place almost every afternoon (at this time of year) from about 16.30 hours onward. I believe it would be possible to fly in booming conditions earlier in the day, but I was happy to lounge at the house until the late afternoon.
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 Jon Garton - Australia
An airborne perspective of some of India’s incredible flying sites.
Goa
Arambol and Anjuna beaches in the North of the state of Goa on India’s West coast represent a paraglider pilot’s  ultimate beach holiday. No distance options here, but the sun soaked, bohemian life style that prevails makes a perfect backdrop to some serious soaring opportunities. With 4-5 launches within 1km of the village, and an on shore breeze that swings from the  South to the West and then to the North West EVERY day, very few days were not flyable in the mid December to mid January season. The cantankerous cows that inhabit the beach are easy to dodge on landing, but the sand is unavoidable, so be prepared to spend some time back on launch with your cells facing downwind. The overall atmosphere regarding flying in this area is very positive, with local schools offering beginner courses, the availability of tandem flights and a constantly changing spectrum of foreign and traveling pilots and friends. In addition the staff at the local restaurants are only too happy to look after your glider to save the carry back to the village, so who could ask for more?
Kamshet - Tower hill
Conveniently located between Mumbai and Pune, the Kamshet area  has many launches taking advantage of the reliable thermic cycles and seasonally variable patterns. The air is warm and 30 to 40% cloud cover is a common sight. Numerous launches have been identified in this area, due to its proximity to Mumbai, though the Tower Hill site is probably the most widely known. A 30-minute up-hill ride takes pilots to within a 10 minute walk of the launch, which is a peninsula that rises 250 m above the valley floor. This site hosted the 2000 Indian Nationals, and offers good launches into the morning Easterlies and afternoon Westerly. The local people are very supportive the flying community, and pilots are always welcomed back to earth with the squealing of excited children, who are usually as exhausted and buzzed as the pilots, after running from surrounding areas.
Nandi Hills - Bangalore
A 1-hour local bus ride is all that separates the colonial hill station of Nandi Hills from the hustle and bustle of India’s hi-tech powerhouse, Bangalore. Perched atop an incredible 600 metre  high granite outcropping is Nehru House, a grand colonial summer retreat built in the mid 1800’s. Whilst the accommodation is impressive, the flying is mind-blowing, with ripping thermic conditions during the day that, by evening, settle into the smoothest and most laminar of inland dynamic winds I’ve ever experienced. Getting into the air is a little hairy, due to the steep angle of the “launch” and the gusty bubbles, but out there the conditions are exhilarating. The shape of the rock, 200 meters of steeply rising rocks and trees, followed by 400 meters of vertical smooth granite rock face, makes for lift that feels like the second half of a bungee jump. XC opportunities abound, though the smaller and punchier thermals in almost all directions over the surrounding plain. As usual getting back to launch from and XC is no problem. Your wait for the bus may be a long one, but it’ll be made memorable by the 30-40 local children who will wait with you.
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