Parahawking: A fun activity where you paraglide with falcons 

If you ever have tried paragliding, then you will agree that it is thrilling, to say the least. This recreational and competitive adventure aero sport, invented in the 1950s, when blended with falconry becomes all the more exciting. Wondering how? After all, falconry is more than 5500 years old and can be traced back to the Middle East. It refers to the act of hunting wild animals from their natural habitat using trained birds of prey such as hawks and vultures.  

So, not only are the two games part of different time periods, they are in no way related. But they have been combined in a sport called parahawking. It involves paragliding with falcons or other similar birds of prey. But the goal here is completely non-violent as the birds help paragliders locate thermal air currents and updrafts. How fascinating is that!  

Born in Nepal 
In 2001, a British falconer named Scott Mason was touring the world when he landed in Pokhara, Nepal and came across several birds of prey in one location, something he hadn’t seen before. Why? Because birds of prey are by nature cruel and often tend to attack each other, unless they are of the same species. So, as you can imagine, Mason was greatly impressed that so many birds of prey such as griffon vulture, steppe eagle and black kite – all were co-habiting. This is when, without further thought, he decided to take full advantage of it.  

Yes, he wanted to train all the birds together for better and more effective falconry. But fate had completely something else in store for him. He went paragliding with his friend Adam Hill (a famous British paraglider) and saw raptors in flight and he was so mesmerised by the view that instead of training them for falconry, he decided to combine paragliding with falconry.  

The first flight 
After naming the activity parahawking, the duo started training two black kites. However, these birds failed to make any impact. This is when they adopted two Egyptian vultures named Kevin and Bob who were actually rescue birds. It was in September 2003 that the duo set out with their respective birds on the first parahawking flight ever that ran from Pokhara to Kathmandu and back. The two-hour long journey was all it took for the men to realise that parahawking can be used to detect thermal currents and updrafts. 

To share their amazing insights with the world, Mason and Hill documented all their parahawking adventures into a film called Parahawking. It was made in collaboration with British filmmaker Graham Saunders Griffiths. The movie was widely appreciated worldwide especially in film festivals. In fact, it was declared as the Best Debut Film at 2003 Festival International du Film de Vol libre in France and the Best Film on Mountain Sports in Banff Mountain Film Festival. 

Since then, many around the globe have tried their hands in parahawking – all inspired by Mason and Hill’s film, as well as writings in journals, magazines and newspapers and lectures.  

Closure in Nepal 
Until 2010, Mason and Hill were in collaboration with Himalayan Raptor Rescue Centre in Pokhara, to provide them with birds for parahawking training. However, when the Nepalese government realised that the centre was illegally holding the endangered birds thus leading to animal cruelty, it banned parahawking in the country. However, sources cite that operations continued till 2017 until it was officially closed down by Mason himself. He had realised that his birds were having a difficult time.  

However, in San Diego, USA and Spain, you can still experience the thrill of parahawking. Don’t worry, it’s all legal there!