Flying without wings

Rise with the soaring birds. Feast your eyes on the splendid views from the hot air balloon as  it floats away from the crowds on a private flight. Touching the skies comes with a hefty price tag, even in India.

For 28-year-old Anand Sukumar, it was a special occasion. He was proposing to his girlfriend, now wife, and made it memorable by taking her on a hot air balloon flight. He insists that the experience was very special. “We went for a morning flight at Manesar. The view of the sunrise, feeling the air at that level and being surrounded by nature was amazing. You feel really close to nature. It’s the kind of special thing you would really enjoy as a couple, with family or friends,” Sukumar says.

Hot air ballooning has several advantages over paragliding or parachuting, including room for more people. He says, “In other rides, there is a particular route to be taken and you may feel tense if you’re flying alone. Whereas, in a hot air balloon ride you’re in the air for about 45 minutes, a crew of four to five accompanies you, the slow pace of the flight allows you to take in everything and you can move around in the basket to look out from whichever angle you wish.”

Although commercial hot air ballooning flights are not uncommon in Kenya, Turkey, Egypt, California, New Zealand, Australia, France and other places around the world, its foray in India is recent.

In India, the cost of free flights, where the balloon travels for 45-60 minutes at an altitude of 350-400 meters, ranges between Rs 25,000- Rs 48,000 per couple. If you’re willing to journey with four to five strangers, it will cost you Rs 10,000- Rs 12,000 per head. The other variation is tethered flights where the balloon is tied to the ground and rises to about 200 meters. The cost varies with the amount of time that passengers want to spend in the air and the size of the group. The equipment and passengers are both insured.

43-year-old Ashish Gupta who went for a tethered flight got about ten minutes in the air. He says, “We had to wait for the wind to calm before we could rise. It was a novel experience, but I wasn’t expecting the blast of hot air caused by the changing heat levels everytime we went up or down. It must be difficult for those who travel around the world in hot air balloons.”

The heat didn’t bother 26-year-old Udaibhan Singh who also opted for a tethered flight. “Once you’re up you don’t feel the heat, because there’s a lot of air. We had good guides and were briefed about everything in advance. Overall, the concept was great. I haven’t done other airborne adventure sports, but I loved being in the air and looking at the expanse of the beautiful Pench Jungle. Given a chance I would do it again,” he says.

Currently only two organisations in the country have Director General Civil Association (DGCA) licenses to conduct commercial flights. One of them Sky Waltz, a licensed Hot Air Ballooning company based in Jaipur, hires professional pilots from the UK, US, as well as India. On request, they also conduct flights in Pushkar (during the festival period), Jodhpur, Ranthambore, Neemrana and Manesar. Tiger India Safari, the other company, usually conducts tethered flights in Pench at Madhya Pradesh, where it is based. They also conduct free or tethered flights at other locations on request.

Hot air ballooning is mostly conducted in northern India because cold and stable weather are preferred.

There is no age bar, but children below five and pregnant women are usually not allowed; old people should take in to consideration that they will have to stand for one hour. All said and done, it’s an experience of a lifetime.