Holi in the Himalayas

by: Kim Nesbitt

By KAVU

May 19^th, 2020

Ah.... Pokhara

It’s so good to be back!

Pokhara, and Nepal in general, have a special place in my heart. Not just the incredible Himalayas, or the amazing paragliding, or the friendly people, but there’s just something about this place that’s….magical.

The last time I was here, I was a brand new paraglider pilot, but now with some experience, I’m definitely more prepared for some beautiful and memorable flights in this part of the Himalayas.

Gearing up

Paragliding is such an epic sport that we often forget to mention the little things, like:

You’re dressed for cold conditions.... sweating when it’s 90 degrees on launch, and.....

........what do you do when you have to pee?

For us women, it means going back to diapers!

As our crew headed up to launch, it was looking like another KAVU day.

Cloud base was super high, Annapurna and Machapuchare sticking out amidst the perfectly blue sky, and I was stoked. Flying with friends, we pushed back from the ridge we launched from, deep into the mountains.

One of the most memorable parts of this flight began on low on a ridge called the “Green Wall” because that’s exactly what it is: one big green wall. The thermals were popping and as we got higher on the Green Wall, we began to get glimpses of Annapurna and Machapuchare poking out behind the wall. With each turn and gain in elevation, more and more of the mountains stuck proud into the sky, making for the most beautiful reveal!

It’s so easy to get distracted by that view!

When you see mountains like this.... it’s not hard to understand why they’re sacred.

Can't forget friendly dogs and kids at the landing!

Bringing smiles is the first step toward livin' Local World Wide!

Busy Livin'

Today didn’t end with the flight, though.

It’s spring in South Asia, and that means the festival of Holi is celebrated. Holi is probably the best-known of the Hindu festivals, probably because it’s the most fun, by far!

This celebration of spring means you buy packs of colored powder and throw them at anyone and everyone in the streets!

Properly covered in a myriad of color, we considered this a Holi well-celebrated.

Happy spring!

Just make sure you don’t get any in your eyes, and if you get it in your mouth, we learned the hard way that it does NOT taste good.

Thank you, Pokhara

Other places I’ve flown just don’t compare to Pokhara. When I think about the best places in the world for paragliding, I don’t just think about the flying.....

Even when you have epic and long flights, it’s such a small part of your day, and it makes all the difference to come back to an amazing town with wonderful people.

KAVU days for sure.... here in the Himalayas!

As of this writing, I may be stuck in Nepal due to the escalating situation with COVID-19. After returning from a mission in the mountains, we learned of the suspension of flights leaving Nepal for at least 10 days, and our flights home happen to be within those 10 days.