Albuquerque's Airborne Adventures

Hot Air Ballooning, Sandia Peak, and the Acoma Pueblo

Dec 17, 2008

As the world's premiere hot air ballooning location, surrounded by towering peaks and cliff top pueblo villages, Albuquerque, New Mexico is filled with aerial adventures.

Thanks to a unique climatic effect known as “The Box”, that allows balloonists to land where they started, Albuquerque is known in ballooning circles as the place to soar. Testament to this is Albuquerque’s annual fall hot air balloon extravaganza that welcomes thousands of balloonists and spectators to experience and witness the spectacle.

Add to this Sandia Peak with the world’s longest tram ride and the only thing that could possibly top the list is a visit to the ancient Native American village nestled high on a mesa on the Acoma Pueblo, outside Albuquerque.

On any given morning, the air around Albuquerque is filled with colorful hot air balloons drifting above the cottonwoods and reflected in the waters of the Rio Grande. Early morning is the best time to soar, before the air heats up and makes things more “interesting”.

In October every year the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta (the largest ballooning event in the world) fills the skies around Albuquerque with so many hot air balloons that special ground and air traffic controllers are employed to bring order to the colorful swarm. In the early morning hours, when the balloons take flight, literally hundreds will be aloft at any one time.

At other times throughout the year anyone can sign on for short ballooning trips whether alone or as part of a group. Most trips start early and end with some kind of light breakfast and a celebratory toast meant to honor the gods of the air. Afterwards a trip to the Anderson Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum helps them gauge their flight against the long line of ballooning pioneers who have gone before.

Albuquerque's Sandia Peak Tramway

From high atop Sandia Peak, most visitors stand with jaws agape as Albuquerque unfolds beneath them. For those who keep score, Sandia Peak Tramway is the longest aerial tramway in the world, rising through the Cibola National Forest to an elevation of 10,378 feet over a distance of 2.7 miles. From the top visitors experience an 11,000 square-mile panoramic view, and can access Sandia Peak Ski area and the High Finance Restaurant and Tavern.

Sky City Just Outside Albuquerque

Sky City Cultural Center lies forty-five miles outside Albuquerque. Visitors to this unique section of the Acoma Pueblo take guided tours of the pueblo’s traditional village, set high on a sandstone mesa. Though many members of the pueblo have moved off of the mesa, a few still live there, and as a result much of the site is still considered sacred and access is carefully controlled. But for visitors who have time for the drive, it is well worth the trip to visit these friendly and engaging people in their very unique mountaintop home.

“Sky City”, as the pueblo village is known, includes a remarkably well-preserved Christian church, ceremonial kivas and local homes. From high atop the mesa, desert floor and mountains stretch on seemingly forever and birds of prey ride thermals up and over vermillion hills and sandstone bluffs.

Other Albuquerque Notables:

The color, grandeur and scope of Albuquerque’s airborne pleasures are simultaneously humbling and empowering. Sampling them is an experience that will leave you in awe and at peace.

The copyright of the article Albuquerque's Airborne Adventures in New Mexico Travel is owned by Glenn Kaufmann. Permission to republish Albuquerque's Airborne Adventures in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.