Hot Air Balloon

RISE WITH
THE SUN

The Mara From Above

The hot air balloon launches from the plains before first light, drifting up as the sun comes over the horizon and the Mara begins to wake. From a thousand feet, the landscape opens out in every direction, the herds moving below, the rivers cutting across the savannah, the light shifting minute by minute as the day takes hold. Flights last around an hour, guided by the wind. There is no engine and no schedule, only the slow rise and drift across one of the most extraordinary stretches of country in Africa. Hot air balloon experiences are available at Wilder's Masai Mara properties and at Lerai Safari Camp. For many guests, it is the moment that defines the trip.

Breakfast On The Plains

The balloon lands somewhere in the open plains, the exact spot decided by the wind. A table is already waiting. Champagne is poured, and a full bush breakfast is served under the open sky, surrounded by the country you have just spent the morning floating above. The tradition of champagne after a balloon flight goes back to the earliest days of ballooning in eighteenth-century France, when pilots would offer it to the farmers whose fields they landed in. The custom has stayed, the setting has changed, and the moment remains one of the simple pleasures of a Kenyan safari: a long breakfast in the open, with no walls and no hurry. On the way back to camp, guests have the option of a short game drive, turning the return into one final pass through the wildlife of the morning.

History Of The Hot Air Balloon

The first manned hot air balloon flight took place over Paris on 21 November 1783, in a balloon designed by the Montgolfier brothers, two papermakers from Annonay in southern France. The flight lasted twenty-five minutes and covered just over five miles. It was the beginning of human flight, and for the next two centuries, ballooning remained a pursuit of adventurers, scientists, and the occasional military expedition. The arrival of the balloon in the Masai Mara came much later. In 1976, the wildlife filmmaker Alan Root launched the first balloon safari in the Mara from Keekorok Lodge, opening a way to see the reserve from the air that had not existed before. Other operators followed through the late 1970s and 1980s, and balloon safaris have run continuously over the Mara ever since.

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DISCOVER

Our Properties

Masai Mara

Paradise Plains

Paradise Plains, The Wilder Group's newest property, sits in the Musiara region, one of the quieter corners of the Masai Mara. Inspired by old-world charm, the camp is spacious by design, with a yoga deck, pool, spa and gym that make restoration as much a part of the experience as exploration.

Masai Mara

Ilkeliani

Ilkeliani sits on the banks of the Talek River, connected to the main reserve by a footbridge and bordered by game-rich plains that stretch out beyond the viewing decks. Tented suites are divided across two wings: Premier Suites and Family Suites in the East, Deluxe Suites and Family Suites in the West.

Olerai Conservancy, Masai Mara

Lerai Safari Camp

Lerai Safari Camp sits on 5,000 acres of Olerai Conservancy, bordering the Masai Mara and shared with Maasai landowners, with 3,500 acres reserved for exclusive Wilder use. Eight tents rest beneath olive trees and bougainvillea, offering an intimate alternative to the busier reserve while delivering the same quality of game viewing.