Samrau Ballooning Festival takes place in Bashkiria

UFA, 20 January 2020. /Bashinform News Agency/ translated by Tatiana Aksyutina/.

The 2nd International Ballooning Festival "Samrau" is held in Bashkortostan from January 18 to 26.

The opening of the festival took place on January 18 at the foot of Mount Toratau. On January 19, 14 hot air balloons flew over Ufa; residents were able to watch this beautiful sight.

The flight took place over Ufa at altitudes from 100 to 800 meters, with an average speed of 28 km/h.

This year, the festival expanded the number and geography of participants and acquired the status of an international event. Ufa Aviation Club "Polet" hosts balloonists from Yerevan, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Tyumen, Omsk, Veliky Novgorod, Velikiye Luki, Kungur, Karaganda, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Yoshkar-Ola and Ulan-Ude.

According to pilots from Nizhny Novgorod, winter aeronautics festivals are held in Russia very rarely, only in Ufa and in Nizhny Novgorod. However, winter flights have their advantages: one can fly all daylight hours, and not just morning and evening, like in summer.

Pilots and a crew of 12 hot air balloons plan to fly over the ridges of the South Urals and Lake Yakty-Kul. It will depend on weather conditions, the organizers said.

The organizers of the Second International Ballooning Festival "Samrau" is the State Committee for Tourism of the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Aeronautical Federation of the Republic of Bashkortostan. Ural-Tengri tour operator provides ground support in hard-to-reach areas and coordination of the rescue team.