I'm planning on going to Tengchong next month and I've read in a number of places that it's possible to go hot air ballooning there as a way to see the volcanoes. I can't actually find out how you do this though - does anyone know? Are there tons of outfits in Tengchong who do this such that you just wander up and ask, or can you arrange it in advance?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

The platform is there and ready to use - yes. But no sight of the hot air balloon... as one could probably discover some secret army base from up there after all. The balloon would be attached by a rope to the ground anyway . The Tengchong volcanoes are, like many other of the well advertised Chinese Tourist attractions, a big disappointment.

Disappointment? I really enjoyed the area. Large mountains on the horizon, impressive calderas, excellent hiking trails and the Chinese tourists only venture to the first one so you basically have the whole park to yourself. Bring some hiking boots, load up on water and sunscreen and you can easily spend a full day there. Of course it helps if you're interested in geology/geography.

If you're still interested in Balloning the owner of Paul's is involved in balloning. He may have contacts.

If that doesnt help i can help with searches

So I went to Tengchong and basically the deal is this:

At the 火山公园 in front of 大空山 there is a hot air balloon tethered to the ground. They pile as many people as will fit into the passenger part, and then float you straight up for a little while, then back down. 200RMB a person - seems like a big rip-off.

If you climb 大空山, which doesn't take that long, you're as high as the balloon goes, so just do that.