Aloft in India by Hot-air Balloon

  • Sky Waltz Balloon Safari now flies in Lonavala.

    Sky Waltz Balloon Safari now flies in Lonavala.

  • Fly as high as 1,500 meters with in the balloons.

    Fly as high as 1,500 meters with in the balloons.

  • Flights have been available in Rajasthan since 2008.

    Flights have been available in Rajasthan since 2008.

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Having soared through the skies above Rajasthan since 2008, Sky Waltz Balloon Safari is now offering hot-air balloon flights from Lonavala, a hill station in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, India’s third-largest state. A 90-minute drive from Mumbai (return transfers are included in the US$196 ticket price), the Lonavala area confers views of patchwork fields, verdant valleys, rock-cut cave shrines, and shimmering lakes, made all the more thrilling during hour-long sunrise ascents that carry passengers as high as 1,500 meters or so low that they’re just skimming the treetops. –Christi Hang

This article originally appeared in the February/March 2014 print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“Basket Case”).

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