New Mexico International Balloon Festival

During the month of October, the New Mexico landscape is dotted with color. Not only the landscape is brilliant with leaves and hues of pink and purple on the mountainside, but also the skies.
October is the annual hot air balloon festival in New Mexico, and if ever you want to spend some time in the state, September will be the appropriate month to do so. The hot air balloon festival is held outside of Albuquerque and began with just a few balloons taking off to drift across the skies in a wash of color. It has grown into an annual event where literally thousands of balloons take off and land in other areas.
Balloon chasers who follow specific balloons to destinations that are as far away as North Dakota are also part of the fun.
Beginning in 1972, the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival is well known as an attraction in the area and the first week of October sees the entire landscape dotted with the balloons.
In addition to the balloons, the hot air fiesta has you smelling roasted chilies and eating foods that are as much a part of the culture and the landscape of New Mexico as the balloons have become. The roar of the burners that all ignite simultaneously, the smell of the various foods being cooked, and the amazing sight of thousands of balloons lifting off at one time is something that simply can’t be missed.
Get yourself to this amazing spectacle at least once in your lifetime. The most photographed spectacle in the United States, the Albuquerque annual balloon festival is something to see.


