Taos offers an amazing array of heartfelt and literally uplifting events along the Enchanted Circle. Be sure to check out our highs and skies, like llama trekking and hot air ballooning.
By Lily Sanborn and Virginia Clark
Taos offers an amazing array of heartfelt and literally uplifting events along the Enchanted Circle. Be sure to check out our highs and skies, like llama trekking and hot air ballooning!
Up, up, and away
Give the gift of flight; cross a balloon ride off your bucket list; or simply close your eyes and feel the breeze on your cheeks as you gently glide on the winds of Northern New Mexico, during the ballooning season, June through September.
Typically over an hour long, ballooning offers possibilities of soaring with golden eagles or flying down-canyon with deer and big horn sheep.
Enjoy this exquisite trip with your family or take a “sweetheart ride” with your special someone. Safe and sound, once you’re back on the ground relish sharp bubbles of champagne – an elegant end to a wonder-filled journey.
Fly freely over the Land of Enchantment with our local ballooning companies near and dear to the town of Taos. Sailing over the Río Grande del Norte National Monument, is a unique experience is unlike any other.
Eske’s Paradise Balloons
‘Ken and crew’ greet you 45 minutes before sunrise, head to the launch site on the Río Grande, do a safety/flight brief, burner blasting, and photograph the set-up, sunrise lift-off, in-flight and landing shots. If possible, you’ll get a “splash-n-dash” down onto the Río Grande. First-class, safe and sound ‘exquis-idry’!
Taos Balloon Rides
Floats over the scenic Río Grande Gorge brings serenity and an oasis of peace to the heart and mind. Sweep over the land, 500 to 4,000 feet above Taos – all captured by photos taken by the chase vehicles following you on your adventure! Get lost in a world all your own, off the beaten paths and byways.
Río Grande Balloons
This brightly colored balloon company meets you an hour before sunrise to get you to launch, float and be back home in about four hours. Settle into the basket at dawn, take in the sunrise, the gorge and the Land of Enchantment, a promise of a truly unparalleled balloon flight and perspective of the Río Grande.
Llama love
Another offbeat favorite among locals and available to visitors is llama trekking. Llamas offer an exciting new adventure in the enchanted lands of New Mexico.
Through New Mexico’s Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Río Grande Gorge, near Taos and Santa Fe, visitors are taken hiking and camping through the New Mexican wilderness with llamas and guides.
Wild Earth Llama
Adventures provides woolly llama friends that carry the gear as you walk through the scenic lands, on beautiful journeys with naturalist guides who enrich your llama trekking eco-adventure with extensive knowledge of local native plants and wildlife; edible and medicinal plants; natural and cultural history; and wilderness living skills.
“Kids, camping, and llamas are a winning combination,” they say online. “Kids and parents will have opportunities to learn about native plants and local wildlife, and are given an introduction to forest ecology, low-impact camping, and basic wilderness skills.”
Whether for single or multi-day adventures for individuals or families with children, the guides and frankly adorable llamas will create an unforgettable wilderness experience.