Paragliding fills the brochures, but Bir is also a Tibetan settlement, a small learning hub and a walking village. If you have a rainy or windless day, these ideas fill it well.
Monasteries and Tibetan Bir
1. Visit Chokling Monastery in the Tibetan colony, known for its large stupa and a statue of Padmasambhava.
2. Look at the Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro monastic college at Chauntra, east of Bir.
3. Visit Sherab Ling Monastery in the wider Bir area.
4. Walk through the Tibetan colony and try thukpa or momos.
5. Pick up Tibetan handicrafts and prayer flags.
Learning and stillness
6. Check the programme at Deer Park Institute, which runs classes on philosophy and meditation.
7. Look at Dharmalaya Institute for talks and sustainable-living programmes.
8. Join a drop-in yoga or meditation class where offered.
9. Spend a morning in a cafe with a book.
Walks and views
10. Watch paragliders come down at the landing field.
11. Drive or ride to Billing and look at the Kangra valley.
12. Walk the footpaths between terraced fields and tea plantations.
13. Do a short stream-side walk near the village.
14. Go for a sunrise or sunset walk on the village edge.
Day trips
15. Visit Andretta, an artists' village near Palampur with a working pottery studio that runs hands-on sessions.
16. Explore Palampur tea gardens.
17. Visit the Baijnath Shiva temple (Baijnath is about 19 km from Bir), a Nagara-style temple dated to 1204 AD.
18. Spend a morning in Joginder Nagar (about 16 km).
Easy extras
19. Try Himachali food at local eateries.
20. Take one day with no plan at all.
Check opening hours and programme dates before visiting. Retreat centres admit programme participants only for stays.
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