Hot air ballooning started as an adventure sport in the eighteenth century, 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.But 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.

The best time to enjoy hot air ballooning is after sunrise when the winds are their calmest. Winter months provide the most reliable conditions, but during summer months its better take of early in the morning. The view from the top, according to the experience of some who have travelled up and down, is nothing but exhilarating.

Physical Requirements
The is no special or prescribed physical requirement for a person interested in taking up the sport of hot air ballooning. However, expectant mothers and people suffering from high blood pressure and heart problems must stay away from it. If you are afraid of heights, then hot air ballooning is not for you. In short, you must be fit physically as well as mentally to enjoy the thrills of hot air ballooning

Feel the earth drop away beneath you as you sit in an oversized wicker basket and drift where the wind takes you. Seems like a lot of hot air? It is.

The best time to indulge in ballooning is after sunrise when the winds are their calmest. Winter months provide the most reliable conditions, but during summer months its better take of early in the morning. The view from the top, according to the experience of some who have travelled up and down, is nothing but exhilarating.

Can find
India also has its own hot-air balloons and the Ballooning Club of India organizes international balloon festivals and demonstration flights annually. There are clubs in Guwahati, Dehradun, Bangalore and Jaipur.