Hot-Air-Balloon Festival starts in ancient city of Saudi Arabia

The 18 days long hot air balloon festival under the auspices of Saudi Royal Commission AlUla has been started in the area of AlUla of Saudi Arabia, 24News HD TV channel reported on Sunday.

According to the reports, tourists to AlUla saw dozens of colourful hot-air balloons take flight above the Arabian Desert and Saudi Arabia's ancient site, which goes back to the Lihyan and Nabataean dynasties.

Sunrise and sunset hot-air balloon rides, helicopter flights, and astronomy sessions are bring AlUla to life. Now the hot-air balloon tours over North Hegra provide visitors with a peaceful experience over the ancient town, which was the Nabataean Kingdom's main southern city.

Helicopter trips are also available in the festival, taking passengers over the desert and providing 360-degree views of AlUla's ancient attractions, including close-ups of the ornate façade chiselled out of the sandstone outcrops.

AlUla is famous with stargazers due to its low light pollution and excellent night skies, and the festival will provide lots of opportunities for attendees to view celestial occurrences.

Daring tourists have their own flying experiences on the Big Swing, where they plunge off the brink of a mountain and swing at high speeds through towering canyon walls.

The AlUla Staircase is also open daily, allowing visitors to climb a 45-metre hanging ladder before swinging down a 150-metre zipline.

The festival's outdoor cinema started showing films on daily basis beneath a starlit sky. At night, a drone display produced a sequence of patterns and shapes.

When more than 140 brightly lit balloons took to the skies at the Unesco World Heritage Site of Hegra last year, the first AlUla Skies festival set a Guinness World Record for the world's largest hot-air balloon glow show.