Chasing the Sunrise: My Unforgettable Morning High Above the West Bank

Chasing the Sunrise: My Unforgettable Morning High Above the West Bank

There is something quite particular about being sleepy in the early hours of the morning during vacation. You are awakened by your alarm clock, it is dark in your room and for a brief moment, you question yourself why on earth you spend your money to be awake in the middle of the night.

This feeling of disappointment was what I experienced when stepping out of my hotel room to go to the Luxor West Bank. However, please do not doubt my words when I say that all your grogginess disappears when you leave the ground and look down from 500 feet in the air.

If you are planning a sunrise hot air balloon ride in Luxor, please allow me to take you through that morning experience step by step.

The Pre-Dawn Mission: Crossing the Nile

Getting up early, even before the sun, in Luxor is not like any regular tourist activity but rather getting involved in a mystery journey at dawn. At around 4:00 in the morning, a driver comes to collect you from your hotel and heads to the riverside.

In the darkness of night, the Nile is a powerful element that makes itself felt. You climb aboard a tiny motorboat along with some sleepy fellow travelers for crossing the East Bank and reaching the West Bank. There is complete calmness on the surface of the water. The surface of the water appears completely glass-like, with the twinkle of lights from the city in the background. Everyone around you is quiet with a sense of anticipation. They are wearing their light jackets and nobody speaks.

At the point when you arrive at the West Bank, you find a group of minivans waiting to take you out into the desert launch field. This is where the adventure starts.

Fire in the Desert: The Launch Field at 5:00 AM

To take off from the launch field in total darkness is an experience that is truly bizarre. In all directions around you, enormous nylon gas envelopes lay down on the ground like sleeping beasts.

Then comes a sudden explosion of noise in the otherwise quiet night. The pilots release huge jets of flame from the burners that directly go through the material of the balloons in big tongues of bright orange.

The flames from the burners literally engulf you, fighting their way through the cold of early morning. You see the ground crew working together with perfect coordination; they communicate using flashlights while the hot air inflates the balloons and pulls them up to stand up vertically in the dark sky.

Before you realize what's happening, it's time to step over the wicker basket edge and find your place there, listening to instructions from the pilot.

The Lift-Off: When the Ground Slips Away

Of course, they all want to know if takeoff is terrifying—a roller-coaster plunge or a jarring elevator ascent. Nothing of the sort.

In an instant, you go from standing firm on the desert sand to just having it slip away underneath your feet. There’s no jolt; there’s no drop; there’s just a startlingly smooth vertical ascent.

As you ascend into the sky, you see the dark outlines of the earth starting to change. Then you understand why you got yourself out of bed at 3:30 AM.

Chasing the Sunrise Over the Valley

The experience of watching the sunrise from a hot air balloon differs vastly from that of seeing it either from a hotel’s balcony or a temple’s courtyard.

To begin with, the deep, midnight blue sky gradually starts to lose its intensity to give way to a light pink shade of lavender. Immediately after, as you approach your height, usually between 500 and 1,000 feet, the sun rises on the horizon beyond the Eastern Mountains.

It only takes a few seconds for waves of molten gold to cover the whole area with their brilliance. It strikes the snake-like river of the Nile, turning its waters to the sparkle of glittering diamonds. At the same time, it paints the greenish agricultural fields located along the Nile’s banks in striking contrast to the golden sands of the Western Desert.

Here, you are actually trying to chase the sunrise.

The Ultimate Peace: Silence in the Sky

Once the pilot stabilizes the balloon at the required height, he turns off the burners for a lengthy period of time. It is then that you experience the most memorable moment of the whole flight—the silence.

On the ground, we are constantly enveloped by the noises of everyday life—engines of cars, conversations, construction, wind whistling through buildings. In the sky, however, all of that noise disappears.

Since the balloon flies with the wind at its exact pace, there is no wind resistance which would bother your ears. The movement seems totally smooth, weightless. All you can hear is the occasional and quiet roar of the burners when the pilot wants some more height, and the surprised whispers of people who accompany you in the basket.

By looking down from the sky, you notice small figures of farmers going to their fields, donkeys dragging carts down the dusty roads, and huge mortuary temples in ruins, looking like toy models through the morning haze.

Landing Back on Earth: The Celebration

Good things must eventually come to an end, and after about 45 minutes of sheer joyride, your pilot begins to search for a good piece of ground to land on.

At the bottom, the chase crew—the people who have been watching your flight from dusty roads—speeds across the terrain to welcome you in the very place you land.

Landing is all part of the experience. The basket either lands gently like a feather or bounces around a little bit as the wind folds the fabric, causing shouts, cheers, and even some laughter among the passengers.

As you walk back on the ground, the early morning cold is no longer there; instead, you get the warm Egyptian sunshine. Most balloon operators will give you a complimentary flight certificate and drink to congratulate you on your landing.

Why This Morning Will Stick With You Forever

Once you are back in the van headed for your hotel, you may be a bit tired, but your camera roll will undoubtedly be brimming with dozens and dozens of pictures of the sunrise and the Nile River.

But once your Egyptian adventure ends, you probably will not think about that morning alarm and cold morning air anymore. What you will think about is that moment of effortless flight in the golden sky, watching an ancient world awaken in absolute silence.

If you still have doubts about the worthiness of Luxor hot air balloon ride and are wondering whether it is hyped up too much, then let me tell you one thing: do not miss it. This is an adventure that exceeds all expectations.