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In India, hot air ballooning as an adventure sport is quite new. The
Balloon Club of India, which was established in 1970 in New Delhi,
is the premiere organization pertaining to this adventure sport in
India. The sport is rapidly gaining popularity among the adventure
seekers.
Hot Air Ballooning has been very old adventure. Since ancient times,
human beings had nurtured the desire to fly although they did not
have the technology to build a machine that could help them fulfill
their desire. As time went by, new technologies developed. By the
arrival of the 18th century, people started making big balloons
filled with steam, which, being lighter than normal air, took them
into greater heights. However, nobody dared to fly on these
cumbersome devices in the initial days.
Hot air ballooning Hot air ballooning as an adventure sport started
in the year 1783, when two French brothers, Joseph Michel
Montgolfier and Jacques Etienne Montgolfier, created and set aloft a
17.37-m high 'fire balloon' from the courtyard of the Versailles
palace. This massive balloon did not carry human passengers but a
sheep, a rooster and a duck. The balloon landed safely at a distance
of 3.2 km from the Versailles palace after a flight that lasted
eight minutes. In the same year, a daring person by the name of Jean
Francois Pilatre de Rozier along with his companion Marquis
d'Arlandes decided to travel in a hot air balloon. It became the
first journey made by man through air, which was powered by
steam/hot air. This historic event occurred in the beautiful city of
Paris and the success of this flight gave birth to the sport of hot
air ballooning.
Hot air balloons created during the period were generally known as
Montgolfier balloons. They were also referred to as 'fire balloons'
because they carried a brazier containing burning coals, which
produced steam/hot air. However, these balloons were dangerous
because the brazier could alight the fabric of the balloon. Apart
from the constant hazard of fire, hot air balloons also faced some
other problems. They would come down to the ground once the
steam/hot air filled within them cooled down. Moreover, they could
only move in the direction of the wind and not against it. Hot air
balloons used today for flying are a highly refined version of the
Montgolfier balloons that flew in the 18th century.
Major Ballooning Sites In India
India also has its own hot-air balloons and the Ballooning Club of
India organizes international balloon festivals and demonstration
flights annually. There are Ballooning clubs in Guwahati, Dehradun,
Bangalore and Jaipur.
Balloon Ride Over The Taj Mahal:
Hot-air ballooning in India is being given a new dimension by
some travel agents/tour operators. They not only operate joy flights
on the balloon but also conduct interesting tours like
balloon-cum-horse or camel safaris. They also offer a view of the
Taj Mahal from a balloon, with the Yamuna flowing by. The sight is
not only an exciting but a thrilling experience.
Ballooning In Rajasthan:
The undulating sand dunes are ideal for ballooning buffs. People
can even travel short distances between towns or historic resorts in
these hot air balloons. The best attraction, of course, is to coast
over fairs as Pushkar, or Beneshwar or Nagaur in a hot-air balloon.
Ballooning Places in India:
Agra, UP
Pushkar, Rajasthan
Beneshwar, Rajasthan
Nagaur, Rajasthan
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