Cappadocia Sunrise Balloon Flight in Goreme National Park

Goreme National Park holds the airspace most photographs of Cappadocia come from, and this flight stays inside it. On a clear morning up to 100 balloons are up at the same time — the ceiling Turkish civil aviation sets across the sectors it assigns for the day — so much of what you see from the basket is other balloons at other altitudes. The meeting is one hour before sunrise. You are driven out to the take-off area while it is still dark and watch the crew unroll the envelope and inflate it. The flight lasts about an hour. Wind sets the course, so no two mornings trace the same line, but the route runs over the valleys and rock formations of the park and passes close to the volcanic cones and fairy chimneys. The balloon climbs to around 6,000 feet. Discovery Balloons sells the flight on its pilots, who it calls chief pilots and instructors, and it claims a 100 per cent safety record. That figure is the operator's own, not an independent audit. Flights run year round whenever conditions allow, and dawn is the only window Turkish civil aviation permits. Mornings still get called off for wind or fog, and a cancellation on weather grounds means a full refund.