Bir Tales: How We Somehow Became Monastery Collectors

Some trips are planned months in advance. Ours usually start with “Should we go here?... or maybe there?” 😄 After much discussion and confusion, we finally chose Bir — mostly because flying off a mountain somehow sounded like a perfectly normal vacation activity 🪂😂What followed was a journey filled with colorful monasteries, dreamy cafés, mountain roads, and a paragliding experience that came with a lot more hype than fear. 

Day 1: Tsering Jong Monastery

Coming to the details, after finishing our already-missing-it Manali trip (https://naishitastales.blogspot.com/2026/05/a-random-plan-that-turned-into-magical.html), the travel discussions started all over again 😄 For the next part of our journey, we were confused between two options — Kullu and Bir.

 Bir had always been on Nithin’s list, mainly because of its world-famous paragliding experience. His first flight near Lonavala had left him with goosebumps and memories he couldn’t stop talking about. Ever since then, he had wanted to relive that feeling — and Bir felt like the perfect place for it.

We booked a room online and began preparing for the journey ahead. Soon after, we boarded a bus from Manali to Bir. The travel almost took up the entire day and, honestly, turned out to be quite exhausting. Most of the route was packed with endless ghat roads, sharp turns, and dusty mountain paths that seemed determined to test our patience

But despite the tiring journey, one thing kept catching my attention — the Himalayan ranges slowly started changing their appearance as we moved further ahead. The landscapes felt different, almost as if every few hours the mountains were introducing us to a completely new version of themselves. That subtle change somehow made the long journey feel a little more magical. Slowly, the landscape began changing from the dramatic snow-covered peaks of the Pir Panjal Range near Manali to the softer, greener mountains of the Dhauladhar Range around Bir.

It almost felt like we were entering a completely different side of the Himalayas altogether — calmer, greener, and gentler in its own beautiful way.

We finally reached our room in Bir by evening, and instantly the place felt completely different from Manali ✨

Bir had a much calmer, more laid-back vibe — almost like a little hippie town tucked away in the mountains. There was music everywhere, travelers relaxing around cafés, and groups of youngsters sitting with guitars, singing and laughing near our stay.

The whole atmosphere felt peaceful, artistic, and free-spirited 🎶🏔️

Later that evening, we tried renting a scooty to explore nearby places, but since it was already quite late, we couldn’t find one.

So instead, we decided to simply wander through the quiet little lanes of Bir on foot — which honestly felt like the universe gently telling us, “Relax… stop planning for once.” ✨

As we walked around, we passed through beautiful farms, spotted vibrant orange trees — something quite rare for us to see back in South India 🍊 — and slowly made our way towards the colourful Tsering Jong Monastery.

The moment we reached it, I was completely mesmerized. The vibrant colours of the monastery, surrounded by spring blooms and set against the Himalayan backdrop, looked straight out of a painting 🌸🏔️ I genuinely felt this was the most beautiful monastery I had ever seen.

And as if the view wasn't already magical enough, the evening sky filled with tiny paragliders floating peacefully above made the entire scene feel absolutely surreal 🪂✨

After spending some peaceful time there, we stopped at a small little pitstop near the monastery for a delicious meal. By then, all the walking had made us properly hungry 😄 We ordered a hot bowl of ramen and thukpa, and honestly, it felt like the perfect comfort food after a long day. Sitting there, enjoying warm food amidst the cool mountain weather, with the peaceful vibe of Bir all around us, was one of those simple moments that somehow become the most memorable ones. 🍜🏔️✨

On our way back to the room, the excitement for the next day had already started building up 🪂✨ We even went ahead and booked our paragliding slot for 6 AM the next morning.

We also did a bit of local vegetable shopping on the way back. Our room came with a small setup including a stove and crockery, so we thought it would come in handy in case late-night hunger decided to make an appearance 😄

Somehow, buying vegetables in a small mountain town felt oddly exciting — almost like we had temporarily settled into Bir life instead of just being tourists. 🏔️🥕🍅

Day 2: Bir Billing Paragliding, Baijnath Temple, Sherab Ling Monastery and Cafes

The next morning’s adventure was about to begin — but the paragliding take-off point wasn’t in Bir itself. We had to drive up to Billing, which is around 14 km away and takes roughly 30–45 minutes of uphill driving. Now, 14 km usually sounds like “Oh, that's nearby!” But in the mountains, 14 km basically means “Sit tight, your internal organs are about to experience every possible curve known to humanity.” 🚙😄

The ride itself felt like a mini adventure, with winding roads and endless mountain views keeping us awake at 6 in the morning.

And then came the altitude reveal — Billing sits at around 2,400 meters (8,000 ft) above sea level, while Bir is around 1,400 meters. That’s nearly a 1,000-meter height difference, which suddenly made me realize one tiny detail: we had voluntarily signed up to run off a mountain... for fun. 🪂😂

At that point, excitement and regret were existing peacefully side by side.

We waited for our turn while watching other gliders glide through the sky one after another. Meanwhile, the hype inside our heads was on another level. Before planning this trip, we had all seen that funny viral paragliding video — the one where the guy couldn’t run properly and spent the entire ride desperately begging them to stop 😂 From that day onwards, I had only one goal in life: whatever happens, I just didn’t want to become the next viral meme.

So while everyone around looked excited, a tiny part of my brain was busy wondering: "What if I panic? What if I scream? What if tomorrow the internet knows me as 'Paragliding Girl from Bir'?" 😭😄

Finally, our turn arrived. Nithin went first, and then came mine.

Those first few running steps were enough to trigger a full adrenaline rush. My brain immediately switched into emergency mode and screamed, “Too late to cancel now!” 😂🪂

But surprisingly, once I was in the air, I actually felt very safe. Maybe because I kept reassuring myself that even if something happened, the trainer had a parachute and hopefully a lot more confidence than I did 😄 After that initial rush, it felt more peaceful than thrilling.

And to be very honest… for me, it didn’t completely live up to the hype. Maybe my expectations had climbed even higher than the mountains themselves ⛰️😂 The views were beautiful, no doubt, but I expected a stronger adrenaline kick. Somewhere between the long journey, endless anticipation, and all the hype around it, the experience felt a little less magical than I had imagined. 

After all the excitement, we finally headed back to our room, feeling both tired and hungry. Waiting for us was a delicious breakfast of hot parathas at our homestay — and honestly, after an early morning adventure and all that adrenaline, they tasted absolutely heavenly 😋

With our energy levels restored, we rented a scooty and started planning the rest of our day’s mini adventure. There’s something about exploring hill towns on a scooty that instantly makes you feel like a local rather than a tourist 🛵✨

Our first stop for the day was the beautiful Baijnath Temple. The temple instantly caught our attention with its stunning stone architecture and peaceful surroundings. The Shiva Lingam inside was truly impressive. Surprisingly, the place wasn’t crowded at all, which made the whole experience feel even more calming. 

At first, we even wondered if this was one of the Jyotirlingas — the name Baijnath/Vaidyanath certainly makes it sound like one 😄 Later, we found out that although the temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva as Vaidyanath and has immense historical importance, it isn’t usually counted among the 12 Jyotirlingas.

Later, we found out that this temple isn’t just beautiful — it carries centuries of history. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva in the form of Vaidyanath (the Lord of Healing) and was built way back in 1204 AD by two local merchants, Ahuka and Manyuka. The temple is famous for its remarkable Nagara-style architecture and intricate stone carvings that have survived for over 800 years.

What makes it even more interesting is the legend associated with it. According to local belief, Ravana performed intense penance here for Lord Shiva. Because of this connection and out of respect for his devotion, Dussehra is traditionally not celebrated in Baijnath, which is quite unique considering how grandly it is celebrated across the rest of India.

We entered expecting a beautiful old temple and walked out discovering a tradition we had never heard before.

After spending some peaceful time at Baijnath Temple, we hopped back onto our scooty and headed towards Sherab Ling Monastery, around 15–18 km away. The 30–40 minute ride itself felt beautiful, with winding roads, tiny villages, and mountain views keeping us company throughout the journey.

By this point, monastery hopping had unofficially become part of our Bir itinerary 😄 But every monastery somehow felt different in its own way.The moment we reached, the place felt incredibly calm and serene. Surrounded by nature and complete silence, it had a very peaceful aura — one of those places where you automatically lower your voice without even realizing it. 🙏🌸🏔️

Somewhere during this trip, we also had a funny realization — over the last two years, we’ve probably visited more monasteries than temples 😄 Maybe it all started after our Leh trip, and ever since then, we somehow keep finding ourselves adding “one more monastery” to every itinerary.

At this point, I think the mountains have converted us into monastery collectors 🏔️✨ Every trip starts with a grand adventure plan and somehow ends with us peacefully walking around prayer flags, admiring colorful monasteries, and pretending we fully understand Buddhist symbolism 😄🙏And honestly, no complaints — because each one somehow has its own charm and peaceful vibe.

We had actually planned to cover a few more places that day, including Deer Park Institute and the hidden Bongoru waterfalls. But after looking at the distances and our energy levels, we realized squeezing everything into one day would turn the trip into more of a race than an experience 😄

So, in a rare moment of maturity, we decided to skip the hectic plan and slow things down a little.

Instead, we headed to the landing site where all the paragliders descend. And honestly, that turned out to be one of the best unplanned decisions of the day 🪂✨

Sitting there, watching colorful paragliders slowly float down against the mountain backdrop felt oddly peaceful. Add to that a dreamy café view, good food, and cool mountain weather — and suddenly we had one of those "this is exactly why we travel" moments. 🌄☕✨

Sometimes the places you don’t plan end up becoming your favorite memories. 😄

And with that, it was time to say goodbye to Bir. A place that gave us beautiful monasteries, dreamy cafés, scenic mountain views, endless winding roads, and an adventure sport that had been hyped up so much, I was mentally preparing for a life-changing spiritual awakening in the sky 🪂😂

Instead, Bir politely handed me a peaceful glide, a mild adrenaline rush for five seconds, and enough mountain curves to permanently recalibrate my balance system 😄

But jokes apart, Bir had its own charm. It didn’t scream for attention like some places do. It slowly grew on us — through quiet lanes, colorful monasteries, orange trees, hidden cafés, and skies filled with tiny humans casually floating around like birds.

We came chasing thrills and ended up slowing down instead. Somewhere between renting a scooty, eating endless good food, watching paragliders land, and questioning our life decisions on mountain roads, Bir quietly found its place in our memories ✨

And as we left, I had only one thought: Maybe Bir wasn’t trying to impress us. It simply wanted us to relax… and apparently test our patience on ghat roads while doing it. 😄🏔️