Soaring the roof of India

Dev Bhoomi, or ‘God’s Land’, refers to the state of Uttarakhand in Northern India. Located between Himachal Pradesh and the Nepalese border, it is home to some of the most religiously significant areas in the Hindu religion, as well as the largest mountain to sit entirely within India’s borders, Nanda Devi (7,816m).

It is an area that is rarely flown, and for good reason. Hindu pilgrimage sites, a lack of paragliding infrastructure, complex valley systems, strict permit requirements and no medical assistance to speak of all work together to create a frenzy of challenges that would otherwise make the average pilot head back to Bir.

But when it comes to adventure flying, Ben Kellett and his flying partner Matt Johnston are the guys for the job. I had the pleasure of following them on this wild Indian adventure through the heart of Dev Bhoomi. While a big emphasis of the project was simply to explore and enjoy this incredible region, Ben and Matt had one big objective on the...