Floating over the picturesque landscape of fairy chimneys and  apricot fields

Watching the sun come up and cast warm yellow  hues over this dreamy landscape is an experience of a lifetime! 

Cappadocia has become a hot tourist destination and people from all over the world come to  Cappadocia to experience this amazing landscape.  

Turkey was always high on my list of countries to visit with it being a mix of Europe and  middle eastern culture. I was fascinated and beyond excited to see what’s in store for me. I took  an overnight bus from Fethiye to Cappadocia. I felt a hand on my shoulder waking me up and it  was hubby telling me to wake up and look outside the window. It’s a sight I will never forget –  About a hundred odd hot air balloons gliding across the sky in shades of blue, yellow and red.  What a sight they made! 

We quickly checked into our hotel and booked a hot air balloon ride for the very next day with the  help of our hotel who recommended Butterfly balloons. Excited and looking forward to the next  day, we went off to sleep.  

Our day started very early the next day wherein we woke up at 4 am, got ready and the shuttle  bus came to pick us up at 4.30 am. The bus picks up all the people who booked the hot air  balloon experience and then takes them to the site location.  

It’s a surreal experience seeing the hot air balloons being fired up and getting them ready for  flight.  

Our hot air balloon was ready in no time and we jumped into the basket. Within a few minutes we  started soaring up. Imagine this, your balloon is soaring up in the sky slowly along with multiple  other hot air balloons and all of them slowly glide in the direction of the wind. The sun slowly  came up and the hot air balloons were gleaming in the warm rays of the sun.  

The cold wind brushed my cheeks and at the same time I felt the warmth of the sun caressing  me. We watched the fairy chimneys of Pasabag and were in awe of their unique structure.  Though we had seen them from the land, the view from the sky was nothing less than  magical.  

We even saw some apricot fields and honeycombed hills. The landscape of Gerome is very  unique and unlike any I had seen.  

The total duration of the flight is approx 1-1.5 hours and the total time taken from pick up to drop  is 3-4 hours. 

Do you know how a hot air balloon lands ?? 

There is a truck that rides on the road right below the hot air balloon. The balloon moves in the  direction of the wind and the truck follows en-suite.  

When it’s time to land, depending on the wind condition, the basket of the hot air balloon lands  perfectly on the truck.  

I got down happy that I had ticked off another beautiful experience from my bucket list. To  celebrate, all rides end with a glass of wine 🙂  

The wine is complementary and I was also given a certificate of completion by the balloon  agency.  

Certificate in hand, memories made for a lifetime and my heart full, I made my way back to my  hotel. Cappadocia : you will always hold a special place in my heart and I know this isn’t the last I  have seen of you. Until next time!

For any further queries, please reach out to holidays@lykke.travel

Credits:

Blog post is written by: Jess Desai