It was the closest, says Nitin Mohan, that he has come to having an out-of-body experience: “Miles and miles of green fields were gliding away below me, the sun was rising against the hill and I could reach out and touch the treetops,” says Mohan, 40, promoter-director of menswear brand Black Berry’s, describing the awesome experience of “watching the world from a hot-air balloon”.

A craze in countries like Turkey, Australia and the UK, the trend of taking a joyride on a balloon is all set to take off in India once the season begins in August. “The Directorate General of Civil Aviation recently granted no-objection certificates to more than 10 companies,” says Vishwa Bandhu Gupta, honorary secretary of the Ballooning Club of India and owner of the company Bandhu Aerospace, which supplies balloons to the Indian Army. Gupta estimates that the ballooning industry, now worth only a few crore rupees, will increase tenfold in three years. Among those who obtained their NoCs in February is the Tiger Balloon Safari, whose director JS Rathore is upbeat as more resorts and tour operators are showing interest in the sport.

Ballooning, say enthusiasts like 49-year-old Anil Wason, offers an experience unmatched by the ant-sized views from an airplane window or the noisy intrusion of the helicopter. Once it is set free, the pear-shaped balloon, fired up by gushing hot gas, soars with the wind and can shoot up to the height of a 90-storey building in a minute. After the initial adrenaline-charged experience, the balloon reverts to a steady calmness. As Rajeev Duggal, CEO of Select City Walk mall in Saket, says, “Nothing comes close.” Jai Thakur of Delhi-based E-Factor Adventure Tourism adds that the older enthusiasts of ballooning “are those who’ve already tried bungee jumping, whitewater rafting and handgliding and are now looking for an experience rather than a kick”.

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