The ZipFlyer in Nepal features speeds upwards of 80 miles per hour.
You know zip lines, right?
You harness yourself up, and then let gravity take over for a bit of a thrill ride. Between a couple of trees in a forest, it seems like no big deal.
But I want to tell you about a zip line that's more than a mile long, with a vertical drop of almost 2,000 feet.
"You reach speeds of almost 85 or 90 miles per hour," says Abhinav Churiwal, who is with High Ground Adventures in Pokhara, Nepal. The company runs the ZipFlyer, which is billed as one of the most extreme zip line rides in the world.
And while it seems that there are plenty of reasons to keep your eyes closed during the two-minute ride, you might want to think again. On a good day, you'll catch the light glinting off the Himalayas all around you.
"As soon as you're there on the ride, you feel as though you are airborne," says Churiwal. "You feel like you're flying."
When the company first tested the idea of the ZipFlyer, they used dead weights. Churiwal says he was the second "human trial" of the zip line. "I was scared at the time, but then as I did it — it was amazing."
He says the best time to make the run is about 6 a.m., when the sunlight is glinting off the surrounding mountains. "It all looks orange," he says.
The ZipFlyer appears to be not just for the young, but also for the young at heart.
Churiwal remembers a 65-year-old woman who went for a ride. "She had a bright smile on her face. And she told us, 'God bless you my children. This is one of the best rides I've ever had.'"
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