Just 2 hours from Mumbai, off the Pune expressway lies the sleepy town of Kamshet. Discovered about 10 to 15 years ago by adventure junkies, it has become a paragliders dream home. Just off the highway at Kamshet, is Tower Hill, an east facing site is visible from the highway and is drivable for most of the way. It is great for soaring, thermalling and brilliant for practicing acro too. A huge area behind takeoff makes it great for top landing practice. It offers views of the Indrayani River, the highway and the railway track that run parallel north of the ridge and the spiny tops that is characteristic of this range. Take off is 857m above sea level.
kamshet paragliding
Other flying sites closeby are Shelar Hill – named after this old local man who provides refreshments to “pilots” after a long day of flying. There also a few more sites like Training Hill, Celebrity Hill and another site closeby at the Pawna lake.
Directions
By Car – From Mumbai
- Enter the Express Highway towards Pune.
- Exit the Express Highway at second exit of Lonavala.
- Turn left onto Old Mumbai-Pune Highway (NH4).
- Drive 18 km and go left into Kamshet.
- Ask for Nane Road and enter this road.
- After 9 km You reach Govitri Village, go ahead!
- 1 km after Govitri turn right onto a dirt road.
- Follow this road for 3 km, until You see Raikar Farm.
- On the left side you will find Kamshet lake.
up in the air - kamshet
There are a bunch of schools where one can enroll for courses or if you are an already experienced pilot, you can camp at their “base”
Mellisa’s place is a great and cheap option for fliers as well as watchers. A great place for a weekend of living by the lake if you just want to chill.
Another known school a few hundred meters after Mellisa’s is Nirvana adventures, which has many travelling experts staying through the various flying seasons. Temple Pilots is another school not based in Kamshet, but they do share the same flying sites.
Make sure you carry supplies – water, bug repellants and tips in change for local staff.
Balu’s is the favourite drinking hole after a long day of flying. Strong beer is on the menu with super local mud house balcony serving as the outdoor sitout bar. Fly responsibly.