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Fly a hot-air balloon over Cappadocia at sunrise

At 5am in Göreme the propane burners ignite one after another, a rough orange cough in the dark, and the field fills with noise and light. Whether you fly at all is not up to you: Turkish aviation officials decide by wind speed, sometimes only twenty minutes before liftoff, and mornings are called off often enough that guides tell you to book an extra day if you can. When it goes ahead, the basket lifts with a soft lurch, twenty strangers in waist-high compartments, and the valley's cone-shaped rock towers slide past close enough to touch their tips.

Practical

Cost
$160-270 per person
Best time
April to November, calmest skies in late spring and early autumn
Difficulty
Easy
Time it takes
60-90 minute flight, 3-4 hours total with pickup and breakfast
What people get wrong
People book a single morning and, if it's cancelled for wind, leave without ever flying; build in a spare day. Also underestimate the pre-dawn cold and turn up without a proper jacket.
With
A group

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