Araku Balloon Festival launches grandly at Araku Valley
andhrapradesh | Written by : Suryaa Desk
The second edition of the ‘Araku Balloon Festival’ was inaugurated on Friday in a grand manner, at Araku Valley. Around 20 balloon operators from 15 countries are participating in this three-day carnival. Around 2,500 tourists have already registered their names, online for this festival. Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) and AP Tourism department are jointly organising this festival.
Ministers Bhuma Akhila Priya, Kidari Sravan Kumar among others attended the inaugural function here, at the NTR Stadium. The ministers also went for a joyride on the hot air balloon. Though the public participation on Friday had been low, majority of those, who took part in the festival expressed satisfaction. Organisers have taken all safety measures and tight security has been arranged on the occasion.
“Almost all the hot air balloon operators, who came here to participate in this three-day event, expressed their immense satisfaction and happiness about the scenic beauties and the geographical conditions, which are very much suitable for this adventure sport. And they all expressed their willingness to participate in the next edition of the event too. In this context, we will continue with this hot air balloon carnival every year to make Araku Valley, an international adventure tourism destination,” said Akhila Priya.
The three-day carnival is hosting hot air balloon pilots from 15 countries including India, the USA, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, Brazil, Netherlands, Slovakia, the UK, Thailand, Germany, Japan, Italy, Spain, and France.