Agra: Hot Air ballooning is a new form of adventure sport, which is still in its infancy in India.To promote this sport the city of Agra will host the Taj Balloon Festival.

The three-day festival commenced on Saturday with the participation of 15 different sized hot air balloons.

Out of them, three were by the event organiser Sky Waltz, India's biggest ever balloon flight company, while other 13 balloons were from various parts of the world including Britain, Brazil, the US and Dubai.

The second day of the festival began with a 45-minute hot air balloon rides, taking off from the ghats of the Yamuna. The setting up of the balloons took about 30 minutes and finally took off at 7:00 am.

The view of the Taj Mahal was not clear due to thick haze. The balloons maintained a height of 300 metres from the ground and flew at an altitude of 1,000 metres.

The monuments were curtained with haze. The balloons ultimately landed on open grounds in the outskirts of the city.

The festival which obtained all clearances from the defence ministry and the Indian Air Force (IAF), since the area around the Taj is a no-fly zone, has been organised in association with the Uttar Pradesh government.

The permission of the event was also taken from the Archaeological Survey of India, Agra district administration and Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

(IANS)

(picture credit:www.ixgo.com)