Imagine yourself waking up to the view of tranquil scenery, felt perfect right? Now, you can experience staying in luxurious camps, go on nature trails to waterfalls, coffee estates, strawberry farms and the exhilaration of flying in a hot air balloon while relishing the panoramic view of a scenic valley very near to you.
Yes, you read it right! All this and supplementary is ready to become a reality in the developing eco-tourism destination of Araku in Andhra Pradesh.
The organizers of a recent fruitful second Araku Balloon Festival are gearing up for a commercial rollout this year offering glitzy camping with resort-like amenities.
Located about 100 km from the port city of Visakhapatnam and surrounded by thick forests of the Eastern Ghats mountain range, the tranquil vicinities of Araku were humming earlier this week as balloons of different shapes like ‘Happy Chicken’, ‘Flying Honey Bee’, ‘Baby Car’ and ‘Bruno Clown’ took to the blues, creating a riot of colors.
In association with Andhra Pradesh Tourism, Sky Waltz Balloon Safari, a part of events management company E-factor organized the three-day festival which saw contribution by 21 ballooning teams from 15 countries, 70 camps, tethers and night glow, paramotoring displays, live music, and excursions.
“This is a beautiful place to fly,” Wout Bakker of Thailand told IANS on board the balloon he was piloting. With 25 years of experience, he has flown balloons around the world, including a seven-hour ride flight Germany to Italy.
“This region has good potential. There will be many people to buy a balloon ride here. If you have something special, they will come,” said Sukhbir Singh Sekhon of Malaysia’s hot air ballooning company Glowing Intuition.
Commercial Rollout
The organizers and state officials hope to start the commercial operations in November this year as they believe that Araku can have two ballooning seasons in a year.
“Araku will become an attraction for ballooning. People will specifically come here for this. We are not seeing it as a casual weekend holiday. We see it as an experiential holiday,” E-Factor Founder & Chief Executive Officer Samit Garg told IANS.
According to Garg, the interesting thing about Araku is that sitting in a bowl, it has a micro-climate of its own. “Nowhere in the world do balloons take off at 9.30-10 am. Around the world balloon flights usually happen at sunrise and go on for two hours at the most. Thereafter, conditions are not suitable for ballooning. From that perspective, Araku offers a fantastic opportunity.”
Packages
A balloon ride of 45 to 65 minutes costs Rs. 14,000. The company charges $280 from foreigners.
Talking about the packages on offer, Kaushik Mukherji, Principal Advisor to the Andhra Pradesh Ministry of Tourism, told IANS that 2,600 online inquiries have been received in the last 40 days. A ride will cost between Rs. 30,000 and Rs. 79,000 with the stay ranging from one night to three nights. For a couple, a one-night stay, a balloon ride, food, and beverages will cost Rs. 30,000.
According to him, potential investors are ready to invest in India’s biggest ballooning and glamping product on the east coast. “The revenue model could be profit sharing or fixed sum per month or per year basis,” said Kaushik.
-Sowmya Sangam
