Our main training site in summer and the first site we discovered in this area, we named it after the farmer Shelar who lives by the site. This site is consistent, offers promise to pilots of all abilities and is great for both ridge soaring and thermalling. A huge airtime accumulator it is routine for novice pilots to clock an hour or two each day.

Booming conditions in the afternoon are usually followed by great soaring conditions with light thermals making it possible to gain height between 300m and 800 m above take-off. Later in the evening as the restitution kicks in magical lift keep you afloat until sunset and it is possible to stray away from the ridge making short sorties unto the parking area a km away and back. Land in the empty fields below the ridge or fly out to the vehicles parked a km. away. Pilots have taken off from here and headed out over the back of the ridge looking to cover distances. Club pilots looking to head away from the ridge can begin small by targeting the parking area a km away. The small XC route (4 km) back to the Native Place Guesthouse on a good day can be very fulfilling.

About a mile long, this North-South ridge is perfect for late afternoon flying from December to the beginning of June. Take off is at 720m ASL. Conveniently situated 8 kilometers from the Native Place guesthouse and 8 km from the highway, it is quiet secluded and unhampered by power lines. A 15 minute walk uphill leads you to the takeoff and once airborne you can soar for hours at a time with the vultures and eagles for company. Children at the site will offer to pack your glider and carry it up to takeoff and down to the vehicle for you. The site is great for soaring and accumulating airtime

Just off the highway at Kamshet this 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. In the scenery department 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.

In 2000 Hugh Miller of XC Magazine took off from here and landed in Pune 60 km away. It is prudent to do your homework before heading out or you may risk the possibility of landing in restricted areas. The site is great for practicing small XC’s thought. It is possible to gain height and fly back to Native Place where depending on your spot landing skills (smiley), you can land in the garden and have a beer before you pack your glider. The distance is 9 km back to the Native Place guesthouse from Tower Hill.

The west face works in the evening towards the end of the season. Visiting pilots are often chuffed about the idea of flying the east face in the morning and the west face in the evening. It tends to gets turbulent in a SW wind and although there is enough clear area to land in below there is the highway and high-tension cables to look out for beyond so take care if you overshoot.

The closest to our base yet, this intermediate level site is about 20 minutes walk up from Native Place. Takeoff height is 720m ASL. The ½ kilometer ridge curves towards south south-west. This west-facing site has a cliff takeoff. One good thermal and you could get up 500m above the takeoff. Flying over the lake and over the guesthouse you could land in a little clearing by the guesthouse or by the Raikar farm. You can also go XC to the Shelar site 4 km away and continue to fly there until sunset and get back home to Native Place with the Nirvana team.

The perfect bunny hill ideal for hops and assuring first solo’s, takeoff height 40m AGL. Just off the highway, a few kilometers away from Kamshet town. Famous for the little village kids who appear from nowhere and run away with your ribbons. If you are looking at improving your ground handling skills take the early morning call and get out there along with the instructors and students for a couple of hours then stop over at the Rangoli Restaurant for coffee and head on to Tower hill for a great flying day.

25 kilometers off the highway from Kamshet past the Pavna Dam this west-facing site, 80m AGL abuts the scenic Pavna Lake. We came across this site in 1998 while looking for a north facing site. A small ridge with good soaring possibilities for a limited amount of gliders, we used it early in the season when Shelar our home site was out of bounds before the harvest. Incredibly scenic with the lake in front of you, check out some great pix of Kai circling over the lake in his hang glider taken in 1999 by Sachin Sandbhor.

In 2004 a big power transmission tower was erected right over the best patch for gaining height and a series of transmission towers fringed the entire ridge a hundred odd feet behind the takeoff. High tension power cables zzt zzt away as you soar ahead of them creating a hazard for any site and more so with prevailing west winds having a reputation for suddenly picking up. We petitioned the State Electricity Board along with the bungalow owners in the area to relocate the main transmission tower but sadly met with a negative response.