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Flying is generally associated with speed. But just in case you wish to have the option of experiencing the sky view at an unhurried pace, you may opt for hot air ballooning.

From next month, Isan Sky Master LTD will offer a three-week training programme that will involve eight hours of flying and theory classes on air regulation, meteorology and navigation.

The student will also get an overview of hot air balloon operations such as ground handling and other technicalities such as how the gas is charged.

After the course, you need to sit for a test, organised by the DGCA, to qualify as a hot air balloon pilot. The course, which costs over Rs 1 lakh, is expensive, but then it is even steeper to purchase a hot air balloon at Rs 20 lakh for the personal pleasure of piloting one's own sky vehicle.

The best option left is weekend ballooning. Isan Master organises cross-country ballooning safaris between its Meerut air base and Tigris, a village in UP, 40 km away.

Here, after a two-hour journey (your travel time will depend on the speed of the wind), you will land on a 3-km long river beach. Watch river dolphins over champagne as the clouds drift by.

Cost: Rs 25,000 for three people.
Contact: Sangeeta Singh: C-123 Defence Colony or 9810372327.

Cave exploration
You go to see the Ellora caves for a different reason. But cave exploration in Meghalaya can produce an entirely different kick.

Headlamps, torch, straps and you're ready to enter the Krem Shrieh or Monkey Cave, the fourth-longest cave located near the village of Tangnub.

Cave exploration is a new sport in India and got a boost after the state government started assisting local adventure clubs like the Meghalaya Adventure Association to promote off-beat tourism.

The Meghalaya Adventure Association had taken the initiative to collect systematic data on hundreds of caves around the state like the 2.4-kilometre-long Krem Um Sngad, the Krem Ryngo (3.3 km) and Krem Mawshun (3.3 km). Till 2000, over 26 new caves were discovered and some of the caves also have underground river passages.