Up, up, and away

Just as Nepal’s cybersphere was sharing photographs of a snowless Mt Machapuchre, the country’s first hot-air balloon festival got off the ground in Pokhara on Tuesday. It starkly juxtaposed the global climate crisis with the carbon footprint of tourism.

As luck would have it, a westerly front finally arrived, sugar-coating the black pyramid of Machapuchre temporarily with a dusting of snow. The festival, organised by Balloon Nepal, had BYD as main sponsor. The EV-maker unveiled its battery-powered M6 minivan at the event.   

The festival puts Nepal on the global adventure destination map, as Pokhara adds ballooning to a list of leisure activities including bungee, zipline, paragliding, ultra-lights, canyoning, and whitewater rafting. 

Pilots from Spain, France, US, UK, Latvia, Germany, Laos, Austria, Korea and Italy are taking part in the festival which will run till 1 January. Tickets for a 30-minute ride for Nepalis costs Rs11,000. Foreigners pay more. 

 The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) published a NOTAM for an airspace radius of 3km over Pokhara as no-fly. This will affect paragliders, helicopter flights, but not flights at Pokhara International Airport. The balloons are expected to conduct 500 commercial flights lifting 3,000 passengers for stunning sunrise and sunset views of the Annapurnas.

This will happen only 6-9am and 4-6pm when the temperature is cooler. The festival also has a daily 20-minute firework display and night flights with glowing balloons. 

Balloon Nepal was established in 2016 and started operating flights in Pokhara in 2018. The festival is designed to take advantage of Pokhara’s topography and location. 

There are food stalls, games, and performances from national and local artists, bands, and DJs in Pame’s carnival atmosphere.

 Also on 29-30 December, the Chinese Embassy is partnering with Gandaki Province, Pokhara Metropolitan City and Nepal Tourism Board to host its second annual Dragon Boat Race on Phewa Lake. Altogether, 32 teams from China, Nepal and Singapore are taking part. 

Commercial hot-air ballooning  was first tried in Kathmandu Valley in the 1990s by Balloon Sunrise, with takeoffs from Kirtipur and drop zones in Bhaktapur. But air traffic growth and urbanisation put a stop to that. 

There has also been an attempt to fly a hot-air balloon over Mt Everest, although initial tries by Japanese and British-Australian teams were unsuccessful.

The gondola crew struggled with hypoxia as the jetstream blew the balloon over Everest to China. The adventure is recorded in Leo Dickinson’s book Ballooning Over Everest, and a video on YouTube.

Austrian mountaineer Wolfgang Nairz also conducted flights over Chitwan in 2003 during the Everest Golden Jubilee Year.

There are still unexplored sites for hot-air ballooning in Nepal, including Chitwan National Park, Rara and Manang. Tethered balloons over Lumbini could be an attraction for pilgrims and tourists, as it is at Angkor Wat. 

Similar festivals happen all around the world: in Turkey, Qatar, New Mexico, Bristol, Japan, and France. The sight of these massive objects, gliding silently across the landscape amidst stunning natural backdrops, make for a memorable spectacle.   

Vishad Raj Onta

BYD International Balloon Festival 2024,  Pokhara, Till 1 January 2025