Paragliding, a sport which imitates the flight of a bird, ranks high in popularity with flying schools and clubs registering a hike in the number of people signing up for weekend jaunts and short term courses.

"When we started 10 years ago we had a lot of foreign tourists as clients but recently we are witnessing an increase in the number of locals taking to paragliding. This might be so because more number of people have more disposable income in their hands and sports like paragliding are more fulfilling than going to the pub and downing a couple of drinks," says Sanjay Rao, of Nirvana Adventures, a paragliding school in Maharashtra.

Pranab Kukreti, who heads Treks and Rapids, an adventure sports company based in the capital seconds Rao. "Among all the aerosports, paragliding is now very popular and we have been getting more enthusiasts from smaller towns like Gwalior, Lucknow and Chandigarh," he says.

The sport requires skill and knowledge of the terrain as well as the weather conditions. "I started paragliding some six to seven years ago and continue to do so because I find it a great stress buster. Also I am ambitious it gives me an opportunity to improve myself constantly," says Gokul, a banker who resides in Mumbai's Lokandwala area.

Gokul, who is a certified scuba diver says he switched to gliding because he was finding it difficult to locate and access diving places. "I now scout for places, study the weather and then take short weekend breaks regularly to pursue gliding," he says.

"Though primary exposure to the sport was done by foreigners, it is increasingly being picked up by locals too," he adds.

Rao, whose school offers paragliding courses and holiday packages along with joyrides and flying guidance, also conducts corporate outbound getaways, children's camps and team building and adventure weekends.

"The number of people who are taking to it is increasing. The defence is taking an intrest in the activity and we have had cadets from the Navy come and do courses with us, he says.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's recent paragliding attempt at Kamshet in Mahrashtra and industrialist Vijaypat Singhania setting of a world record in flying a hot air balloon seems to have given more visibility to such sports, say those in the field.

"In the past few years we have seen a rise in those who have evinced intrest in such sports in and around the Delhi region," says Kukereti.

The cosmopoliton crowd, in and around cities like Delhi, Gurgaon, Pune and Bangalore, which has a lot of financial muscle and young crowd are being attracted to such high-flying sports, he points out.

The activity, which is quite a rage in European and Australian countries, still remains for Indians a very new-age sport with most equipment being imported or bought from the foreigners who sell them off after completing gliding expeditions here.

Since it requires a hilly area for take off and a open vast area for landing the Solang valley near Manali the slopes of Kamshet and Panchghani in Maharashtra and the Eastern Himalayas in the Darjeeling area are ideal locations for paragliding. The Nilgiri hills as wells as the hills in Munnar, Auli in Uttranchal and Sansar in Jammu and Kashmir are coming up as destinations for this sport.

Munnar, a hill station on the Western Ghats, famed for its tea estates in Kerala is also another area which is becoming popular. "We have had pilots from Israel, Austalia, New Zeleand, Scotland and other Scandanavian Nations coming to fly here," says Sumesh G of Edlewiss Adventures, based in Kochi.

"A lot of people think Himachal Pradesh is best but actually places in Uttarakhand like Pauri Garhwal are the safest due to their natural topography. The slopes are good and the tempratures are also conducive. Naukuchiatal near HP and Pune are other good regions for gliding," says Kukreti.

"We have seen a rise in those who have evinced intrest in such sports in and around the Delhi region," he adds.

The idea of paragliding is being one with nature, away from the pressures of the city life, the silence and recreation, says Mandeep, a dentist who has been doing so for the past 18 years. "I also do a lot of parasailing and go on rides in baloons," he adds.

Parasailing, is another popular activity and usually scores over paragliding due to its lower costs. A single parasailing flight usually can take 150 to 175 people in one day compared to one or two passengers for a gliding flight.

Also for parasailing the costs are as low as Rs 500 for one flight. "Serious enthusiasts however are not concerned so much whether they spend Rs 500 or Rs 1,000 they are there to experience the pleasure of the flights," says Rao.