Bir Attractions - Tourist Places To Visit In Bir

Deer Park Institute, founded in March 2006 by the Bhutanese lama, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, known as a writer and filmmaker, is a centre for the ‘Study of classical Indian wisdom traditions'. The organisation is under Siddhartha's Intent Society and receives the support and appreciation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

The main endeavour of the organisation is to rebuild the spirit of Nalanda University, one of the greatest and the oldest university of ancient India. This institute also conduct regular workshops and guest lectures.

Paragliding is the most thrilling and adventurous activity that can be taken up in Bir. The destination is also popular as the paragliding capital of India and serves as a significant takeoff site for paragliding. The landing site is at Billing, which is around 14 km away from Bir.

Paragliding requires training as it cannot be performed by a novice. There are several private tour operators in Bir, who provide with all the basic equipment and training for paragliding. The Department of Tourism, Civil Aviation and Government of Himachal Pradesh organises a Paragliding Pre-World Cup event every year in the month of October here.

Interested people can try paragliding here from the month of March till May and from October till November. The weather during this time remains pleasant and favourable.

Dharmalaya Institute is a Non Government Organisation or NGO devoted to education, service, and compassionate living, with a practical focus on sustainable village development, contemplative service-learning and immersive ecotourism'. It is an eco-campus for service-learning and meditative practices.

The institute organises mediation and work retreats which give students and volunteers long-term opportunities to indulge in ‘Karma Yoga’ or service with a selfless objective. Organic farming, green job skills training for local villagers, a tree-planting project, and green building are some of the programmes that can be taken up here.

Chokling Gompa situated in Bir is a monastery dedicated to Neten Chokling Rinpoche, a reincarnate lama according to the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He also directed a film named Milarepa which got released in 2006. The main tourist attractions of this gompa include its Tibetan style of architecture and a large stupa.

Apart from training monastic students, the monastery from time to time keeps on organising Buddhist ceremonies. A guest house and restaurant can also be found in the monastery premises.

Since its introduction in 1980, Hang-gliding has become a popular sport in Bir. The launch site for hang-gliding is in Billing, which is 14 km away from Bir, while Bir acts as the landing site. Since 1984, Bir-Billing hosted three international and five national hang-gliding events. An Aero Sports Complex in Bir, run by the HTDC, provides training in this new sport.