Marrakech Hot Air Ballooning

Balloons fly at first light because that is when the air is stable, so the day starts with a pickup somewhere between four and five in the morning, a drive out to whichever launch field the wind has chosen, tea while the envelope is inflated, and about an hour in the air. What you get is the Haouz plain from a few hundred metres - villages, olive terraces, mud-walled compounds, flocks being moved, and the whole High Atlas wall standing up along the southern horizon with snow on it in winter, which is the view the flight is for. Landings are wherever the balloon comes down, followed by a breakfast in a Berber tent. Several operators fly and safety standards vary, so this is one to book with an established company that flies regularly rather than through a hotel desk on commission. Flights cancel for wind and there is often no second slot.

Highlights

• A dawn start - pickup before five, inflation at first light and about an hour aloft.
• The Atlas wall - the whole range along the southern horizon, snow-covered in winter.
• The plain waking - villages, olive terraces and flocks a few hundred metres below.
• A tent breakfast - after the landing, wherever the balloon has put down.

When to go

October to April, when the air is clear and the Atlas has snow. A morning.

Practical notes

Flights cancel for wind and rebooking is not always possible. Operator standards vary - book with an established company, not a hotel desk. It is expensive. The start is very early and it is cold aloft.

Nearby

Marrakech is the pickup point; the Atlas foothills are south.