New Zealand paraglider Benjamin Kellett soared 200km over the Indian Himalayas in a viral video. Photo / @benjaminkellett
New Zealand paraglider Benjamin Kellett soared 200km over the Indian Himalayas in a viral video. Photo / @benjaminkellett
Benjamin Kellett’s 200km paraglide over the Indian Himalayas amassed 2.1 million views.
Kellett’s six and a half hour flight featured stunning views and interactions with vultures.
Kellett, a professional paraglider, has built a large social media following by documenting his adventures.
A New Zealand paraglider has gone viral after sharing a video of himself soaring over the Indian Himalayas for 200km.
Viewers were in awe of the duration of the flight and the captivating scenery Benjamin Kellett was lucky enough to see.
Kellett told the Herald he was visiting the regionon his way to Switzerland for work, calling it the “perfect mid-way stop for a holiday whilst transiting”.
In an undated video uploaded to Instagram on Friday, Kellett embarked on a day-long flight from Bir Billing, India’s paragliding capital in the state of Himachal Pradesh.
“Coming up on four hours, 130km into the flight. Four metres a second with the vulture,” Kellett said, praising the large raptor flying beside him.
“These guys are so good. They help us find the climbs, it’s amazing.”
At one point, he turned to a fellow paraglider and pulled his attention towards a tea shop below they’d visited earlier in their trip.
“Just down there’s where we had chai.”
Approaching his landing spot after covering 200km – roughly the distance between Auckland and Tauranga – Kellett said it was “a beautiful end to the day”.
The entire glide took Kellett six and a half hours to complete.
“After a 12-hour taxi ride back to Bir, we got five hours’ sleep and decided to have a crack at the classic 200km flat triangle from Bir Billing. The conditions were amazing and was by far the easiest 200km I’ve ever flown, 6.5 hours,” Kellett captioned the video.
“What an incredible place, can’t wait to go back!”
It has since accumulated 160,000 likes and more than 2.1 million views.
Benjamin Kellett is a professional paraglider who works between Queenstown and the European Alps. Photo / Benjamin Kellett
Kellett, who learned how to fly on Coronet Peak, told the Herald the Himalayas are known to have some of the best flying conditions in the world.
“We had just finished a three-day flying and camping trip crossing Himachal Pradesh and had a few days to kill before we flew on to Europe, so decided to try this flight,” Kellett said.
“We were flying up to 5500m in strong thermals which is pretty good, even for Bir Billing.”
Stunned viewers headed to the comments after the video began gaining traction online.
“It’s so peaceful, I would have fallen asleep within the first hour,” one person commented.
“I had my first paragliding experience at Dobhi. 20 mins felt like hours. I can’t imagine people flying for 5 hours ... unreal mate!” wrote another.
“Bro said day 1 in the start and gave us this Earth premium tour,” said a third.
One person asked how Kellett managed to stay so long in the air without a toilet break, to which he replied: “Lean out the harness, aim to the side and try not to get any on your face.”
Kellett, who is originally from the UK but now lives between Queenstown and the European Alps for work, is a professional paraglider with over a decade of experience.
Having started to document his adventures on social media, Kellett has built a following of more than 210,000 on Instagram and 30,000 on TikTok.
On a trip to British Columbia in Canada last year, Kellett flew from the summit of Revelstoke Mountain before landing by an alpine lake to camp.
The overnight expedition also went viral, garnering more than 6.9 million views and 571,000 likes.
Tom Rose is an Auckland-based journalist who covers breaking news, specialising in lifestyle, entertainment and travel. He joined the Herald in 2023.
