Balloon Flight in Cappadocia

Over the past 40 plus years of flying hot air balloons, I have never needed to or been inclined to buy a ride, however, I’m willing to make an exception in order to best appreciate the magnificent rock formations of Cappadocia. The Discovery Balloons passenger van picked us up pre-dawn and delivered us to our launch field. After the inflation was complete, we climbed into the 20 passenger basket and gently drifted into the Red Valley, then over Goreme and into the Love Valley before landing and celebrating with our fellow passengers. While flying at 1500 ft offered us a great overview of the area, within the valleys our pilot navigated the balloon through the rock formations at an altitude low enough to truly appreciate the terrain. For an exceptional aerial perspective, there is simply no better platform than the basket of a balloon.

Click on Photos to enlarge

The pilot and ground crew coordinated a very successful landing on the trailer of our chase vehicle...

Followed by a Pomegranate/Champagne toast.......

And Tammy gets her Cappadocia Balloon flight experience certificate!

And the best part for me, I didn’t have to do any work!

I do have 2 video clips to share:

Just after our sunrise launch as we entered the red valley:

https://youtu.be/qtwMqFAKCjA

Flying over the phallic rock formations, of Love Valley, which is why Love Valley is called Love Valley:

https://youtu.be/B2f-hjoSXk8

With some commercial ballooning experience, I approached this Balloon operation with a critical eye, and I will say they were proficient, very professional and our pilot Ali Coskun delivered great customer service with good humor. It is also interesting to note that this morning there were over 100 balloons in the air, all large passenger ride operations.

For my flying friends back in CT info regarding our aircraft:

Balloon Mfg: Ultra Magic Balloons (Barcelona Spain)

Model: N425 ( volume 425,000 cu ft) / 20 passenger

Registration Number: TC-BNR