The best hot air balloon rides in the world

Hot air balloons are associated with fun, romance and no small amount of eccentricity. While a ride is an event in itself, combining it with travel and the opportunity to see some of the world's most remarkable scenery is the perfect way to make the most of your flight.

Here are some of the best places to get up, up and away:

Angkor Wat

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This Cambodian temple complex is already popular with tourists and backpackers due to it being a stand out destination in its own right. Exploring at ground level is one thing, but sailing over the top is quite another.

You can book a 90-minute balloon ride over Angkor Wat and Siem Reap province at sunrise or sunset and see a spectacular place from an equally spectacular vantage point.

"Old Henri Mouhot never got a view of Angkor Wat this good," says the Daily Mail. "The French adventurer who rediscovered Cambodia's cultural shrine in 1859 could well be turning in his grave."

Book here.

The Serengeti

There aren't many travel experiences that sound more appealing than hot air ballooning over the Serengeti, in Tanzania, while taking in some of the world's most beautiful scenery. The ride will give you a new perspective, showing both the park's vast size and the eco-system of the animals that live there.

"The annual wildebeest migration, during which huge herds travel in search of food and surface water, would be the perfect time to try it," the Daily Telegraph says.

Book here.

The North Pole

Quark Expeditions offers the perfect ride for Arctic adventurers or children hoping to spot Father Christmas. Going to the North Pole is already a unique experience, but floating above it with a bird's eye view will truly have you feeling on top of the world.

Rides are dependent on weather conditions - and it can get pretty cold.

Book here.

Atacama Desert, Chile

Chile's Atacama is "like no place on earth", says Lonely Planet. "With its jagged, rust-coloured ravines, vast, rocky, white salt pan and volcano-topped horizons, you would be forgiven for drawing comparisons with places beyond our atmosphere," adds the travel guide.

There's no better way to see the desert than a balloon ride over it at sunrise - "an unforgettable way to soak up the drama of the desert from above – with ancient landscapes unfurling beneath a cloudless sky", says the Telegraph.

Book here.

Bagan, Myanmar

Bagan is a temple town stretching across 26 square miles. The Guardian calls it "the Angkor Wat of Burma", with more than 2,000 brick stupas from the 11th to 13th centuries that "look like fairytale kingdoms" when the sun sets.

Such a view is best appreciated from above. Float through the skies above the pagodas of Bagan and escape the tourists on ground level.

Book here.

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