I have wanted to go on a hot air balloon ride since I was about five years old. My mum gave one to my dad for his birthday one year when I was little. They had an open spot in the basket for one extra person and I wanted to go. However, because I was not tall enough (I was five!) to see over the basket I wasn’t allowed to go. That makes sense. I wouldn’t have seen much apart from the inside of a basket! However, a hot air ballon ride in Marrakech sounded great!
The only thing pre-booked (apart from the hotel) on this trip was a hot air balloon ride to see the sunrise over the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. I did a lot of research on what company to book with. I decided to go with this one since they have a lower cap. They limit each basket to 10 people plus the driver. Many of the other companies will pack in up to 25 people into theirs. I saw one hot air balloon ride going up with a basket about 3 times the size of ours and it was packed to the brim.
The night before the tour the company will call and let you know the pick-up time and place. I had it in my mind that the pickup would be crazy early – around 5 a.m., but actually the sunrise wasn’t till about 8:30 a.m. We had a reasonable pick up time of 7.30 a.m. at one of the main gates! After a little confusion that morning of what exact gate we were actually being picked up at we were on our way by 7:45 a.m.! The drive to the Atlas mountain foothills where we would be taking off from was about 25-30 minutes or so. We definitely made up that lost 15 minutes with the speed we were going!
There was a fire and tea and pastries waiting to occupy us when we got there while the balloon was being set up. We only waited about 10 minutes or so before they were ready for us to load up! I’m glad we didn’t wait long because it was freezing! There were 2 compartments in the basket and the pilot told us all which one we should get into. My sister, dad, and I shared a compartment with the pilot and the other 2 families shared the other compartment. Once we were all in we were off!!
It was amazing! We were up there about 15-20 minutes before the sun finally broke over the Atlas Mountains! We would go up and down slowly and there was very little (to no) wind and so it was peaceful and calm up there. You could just see for miles! The pilot told us were flying a little further away from Marrakech than they usually do. He explained because the King was visiting Marrakech and for security reasons we could not fly as close as usual.
It was beautiful seeing all the balloons in the sky as the sun rose in the background. The pilot told us when he first started years ago, he was often the only one up there. Now there are many different companies and lots of balloons in the sky. He said he thought it would soon be like Cappadocia in Turkey.
We were up there about an hour before we started descending for landing. I was a bit anxious about the landing because I had heard that the balloons can tip over. We could see all the trucks below us following the balloons, so that they can be ready to help with the landings. We had the three guys who had helped with the takeoff help with the landing. They grabbed the basket as we almost got to the ground. Even with the men there we very nearly tipped over! We were about 30 degrees from being on our sides and two of the guys were standing on the side of the basket trying to right us! It was touch and go for a moment! Thankfully, they kept us from turning over.
Once we were all out and the balloon was packed away (it was a very quick process!), we loaded up in the two cars we came in and went to have a traditional breakfast at one of the guys who helped with the takeoff and landing’s house. We had mint tea, bread, olives, and hard-boiled eggs (I don’t eat eggs so none for me!). It was a nice finish to the morning. After that we all loaded back up into the vehicles and headed back to Marrakech!
If a hot air balloon ride is on your bucket list, I cannot recommend it enough. Definitely go if you are in Marrakech! I don’t mind heights, but I think even if you did you might still find it quite peaceful. The basket is high enough that you do not feel unsafe!
Once back in Marrakech it was off to see more of the sights!
Buffy x
