ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — This week, for the 44th straight year, thousands of people gather in the high desert of the American West to use basic thermos physics to light up the sky with bright colors, animals and all other sorts of objects. The processes to make this happen are complex and somewhat dangerous, but based on the most simple of all human discoveries: heat rises.
The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is exactly what it sounds like — a gathering of those who fly, ride in and just generally appreciate the anachronistic form of hot air balloon travel, one that persists only for such enthusiasts. Starting with a mere 13 balloons in 1972, it has grown to attract more than 500, making it the largest such event on the planet.
Every day for nine days, weather permitting, a good number of these balloons are stretched out, prepped, inflated, launched and flown into the expansive New Mexico sky against a backdrop of the Sandia Mountains, spiking up nearly 8,700 feet above sea level from Albuquerque, itself already more than a mile high. The myriad bright colors stand in contrast against the blue canopy, the gray swathes of clouds and the jagged, red peaks.
And that’s the biggest attraction here. While some participate in competitions and others go for tourist rides, many are simply here for the spectacle of the thing. That aspect is best — or at least, most luxuriantly — taken in from the Gondola Club, a $50-$125 per entry tent and fenced-in yard on the periphery of the park replete with an omelet and huevos rancheros bar, as well as an actual open bar. It is full well before dawn, before the first balloons are filled and tipped upright, flaring their fire in the night purely for entertainment purposes.
The better view, though, is out among the balloons themselves, where spectators get nearly unfettered access as the crews prep them for flight. On a sharply brisk, predawn morning, the heat from the contraptions itself provides a welcome bubble to insulate against the elements. Enjoy the sites in the gallery above, then see the compilation of time-lapse videos below.
