Photo: Cody Tuttle/Wingate Motion

Paragliding high above a beautiful landscape is already a bucket list item, but doing it alongside an Egyptian vulture might bump it up to the top of the list. Pioneered by Scott Mason , who has been training birds since he was ten, parahawking consists of a trained vulture or hawk guiding a paraglider through thermals or air pockets in the sky for long, bird-like flights. The pilot or tandem companion holds some meat in a glove and sporadically rewards the bird with it. The Parahawking Project , originally founded in Pokhara, Nepal, and since moved to Algodonales, Spain, makes this experience available to tourists in hopes of raising support for birds of prey across the Europe and Asia.Here, Mason takes us through a flight through the Himalayas with Bob, an Egyptian vulture, and fellow paraglider Cherise Tuttle.Here, Tuttle and I make contact with Bob during a flight above Pokhara, Nepal. Rescued and rehabilitated raptors such as Egyptian vultures are trained under the Parahawking Project’s proven program. They learn to fly with paragliders and, by using their incredible ability to conserve energy, guide the paragliders to the best thermals. Thermals are rising columns of warm air that are created when the sun heats the ground. They provide lift for paragliders and soaring birds such as vultures, allowing them to save energy. Because birds such as eagles, hawks, and vultures instinctively conserve energy while flying and have a natural ability to find thermals, they provide the perfect thermal marker for paragliders.