We had been planning this trip for a long time. All of us had one common dream: ‘to experience the joys of paragliding’.

My husband had been in touch with Sanjay Rao of Nirvana Adventures for a while. We had checked out other options as well but Nirvana was a professional set up with ample instructors and equipment, able to handle a group and all the logistics. Plus we were looking not just to do a course but to be able to fly in the hills of Sri Lanka in the future.

When we left Colombo Airport on the 26th of December, we were 11 wanna be pilots plus my sister and niece who accompanied me as I was the only lady in the group.

Our training days on the ground was a lot of fun and excitement. 11 students, 4 instructors and 3 more ground crew who helped us spread the gliders, clear the lines and be ready for our runs and hops.

Nirvana Adventures puts a lot of emphasis on ground training and as our ground handling skills improved our confidence levels went up.

The crew was patient, helpful and courteous and totally committed to getting the best out of us. Personal attention was given so that we learnt the fundamentals well. They dinned the basics of paragliding and safety into us and we will never forget the lessons we learnt.

First flights were simply amazing. We found ‘Nirvana’ in the skies. After the initial fears vanished it was pure pleasure and longing to be in the air once more.