FLY HIGH WITH THE SRI LANKA BALLOON FESTIVAL 2008

Hot air ballooning is a popular adventure sport and with good reason. After all which other sport offers its enthusiasts the thrills of picking leaves from a treetop, skimming a few feet above water or soaring thousands of feet above breathtaking scenery?

The inaugural Sri Lanka Balloon Festival was held in 2003 and since then has been continued almost biennially. March-April 2008 is slated for the third such gathering. The 2008 festival has been declared a national event by the Ministry of Tourism and is organized by the Ceylon Airship and Ballooning Club (CABC) headed by its Chairman, Captain Anil Jayasinghe who is Sri Lanka’s pioneer and only hot air balloonist. It is currently the only aviation event in the country.

80-100 participants from Europe and Japan are expected together with 25 hot air balloons. This event is unique for balloon participants in that they will have an exclusive, two-week organized tour built around the hot air ballooning experience in Sri Lanka.

The ballooning excursions include a few days of flying in the Uda Walawe area, the Cultural Triangle and the general area of Sigiriya as well as a trip to Nuwara Eliya and helicopter rides.

But in addition to the attraction of ballooning, the three most popular features of this festival are:

• Travel via the Viceroy steam engine which is a unique feature of the event. No other balloon festival in the world has such a mode of travel for the participants. Steam-powered rail travel is a throwback to a bygone era and such a facility is rarely found in modern times in most countries around the world.
• Sky diving is an added feature. The festival has attracted a few parachutists who get their thrills in jumping from the balloon.
• Night Glow Musical Show - The tour traditionally starts off in Colombo with a “Night Glow musical show” with the balloons tethered, lit up and glowing like large light bulbs against the evening darkness, providing a spectacular sight to the viewers. Music, food and beverages are available for spectators in a carnival-like atmosphere allowing many families to enjoy a quality evening of entertainment.

The event which has gained popularity as a quality event is getting noticed amongst balloonists worldwide and has been featured in the British Balloon and Airship Club magazine Aerostat and the Japanese magazine Sky Sports.

The Sri Lanka Balloon Festival is not only about flying but appreciated by balloonists as a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and savor the beauty the country has to offer visitors. 

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