Japan and New Mexico From Hot Air Balloons

A trip to Japan will offer a bird’s-eye view of the country on an adventure organized by the U.S. Hot Air Balloon Team. The tour revolves around the Iwadeyama Balloon Festival Nov. 1 to 7 at Sendai in northern Honshu. Participants can either join in-flight preparations or just go along on the daily rides. Sightseeing on the ground is also scheduled.

Cost: $3,990 per person, double occupancy, including lodging, sightseeing and daily breakfast and dinner. Air fare to Japan is extra.

Contact: U.S. Hot Air Balloon Team, telephone (800) 763-5987 or (610) 469-0782.

New Mexico: Ballooning

The Kodak International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta is the highlight of “De Colores,” a tour to New Mexico Oct. 6 to 11. Participants will attend the morning mass ascension in Albuquerque, a kaleidoscope of 800 colorful balloons, and an evening balloon show, with the opportunity to take a sunrise balloon ride. The Pyramid Hotel offers a window view of the fiesta.

The University of New Mexico’s Maxwell Museum of Anthropology has been reserved for a dinner at which guests will be serenaded by a classical guitarist.

A cooking class hosted by professional chef Jane Butel, a visit to the Acoma Pueblo and a ride on the Sandia Tramway are also scheduled. A tour of Santa Fe will be followed by a traditional meal at a private home at the Nambe pueblo and a pottery demonstration at the Santa Clara pueblo.

Two vineyards, two picturesque mission churches, Puye Cliffs, Los Alamos and an evening with a storyteller will complete the package.

Cost: $800 per person, double occupancy, including land transportation, lodging (three nights in Albuquerque, two nights in Santa Fe), most meals and gratuities for guides. The tour does not include air fare to and from Albuquerque or the sunrise hot air balloon ride.

Contact: Christy Rojas, Aventura Artistica, 151 Sherry Lane, Del Mar, CA 92014; tel. (800) 808-7352.

California: Gold Country

Discover California gold history on a trip through the San Joaquin Valley and Gold Country. Guests will visit Bakersfield to see the Buck Owens Crystal Palace and the Kern County Museum and Pioneer Village. In Gold Country they will see the Railtown 1897 State Historical Park and the Columbia State Historical Park. Then it’s off to Mammoth Lakes, Sonora and Lake Tahoe. The tour runs Sept. 18 to 24.

Cost: $580 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip bus transportation from Los Angeles, hotels, most meals and entrance fees.

Contact: Main Street Tours, 1751 W. Torrance Blvd., Suite N, Torrance, CA 90501; tel. (800) 300- 6246.

Mexico: Archeology

UCLA Extension is offering “Civilizations of Ancient Mexico,” a 12-day archeological travel study tour that covers the pre-Columbian civilizations of central Mexico, Dec. 15 to 26.

Long before the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs, central Mexico was home to civilizations that built metropolises and extensive ceremonial centers, the remains of which are located in the region’s highland valleys. Led by Karl Taube, a professor of Mesoamerican art and religion, the tour includes visits to such ancient cities and sites as Teotihuacan, El Tajin, Filo-Bobos, Jalapa, Olmec and Totonac, Puebla, Cacaxtla, Tlaxcala, Chalcatzingo, Xochicalco and Tepoztlan.

Cost: $2,995 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, accommodations and meals. Not included: UCLA Extension enrollment fee of $260.

Contact: UCLA Extension Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, 10995 Le Conte Ave., Ste. 711, Los Angeles, CA 90024; tel. (310) 825-2272.

New York: Hudson River

The Hudson River Valley is the focus of four fall foliage walking tours offered by High Land Flings Footloose Holidays beginning Oct. 3. The two- to five-day tours trek landscapes painted by renowned artists and the estates of politicians and socialites such as the Vanderbilts, Livingstons and Roosevelts. One tour, “Autumn Grandscapes,” which runs Oct. 3 to 8, also features walks in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts.

Led by guides versed in the history, folklore, flora and fauna of the region, the walks offer a combination of outdoor activity and culture.

“Peak Fall Foliage Holiday Weekend,” Oct. 8 to 11, features walks in the Catskills Forest Preserve.

“The Gunks in Gold,” Oct. 15 to 17, offers walks and hikes in the sparkling quartzite landscape of the Shawangunk Mountains.

“The Hudson Valley’s Gilded Age,” Oct. 17 to 22, features river walks on the Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ogden Mills and Vanderbilt estates.

Cost: from $425 to $1,050 per person, double occupancy, including lodging in historic inns and B&Bs; most meals; in-tour transport; pickup and drop-off service at designated airports, train and bus terminals; all taxes and gratuities. Air fare to New York is extra.

Contact: High Land Flings Footloose Holidays; telephone (800) 453-6665.

Texas: Big Bend

Crow Canyon Archaeological Center will show off Big Bend National Park in Texas Oct. 24 to 30. David Ing, an archeologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and David Alloway, a state park naturalist, will guide the group through the northeastern corner of the Chihuahua Desert.

Big Bend is home to abundant wildlife--mule deer, javelinas, coyotes, mountain lions, reptiles and more than 400 bird species. Parched badlands and lush riparian zones make up the diverse landscapes.

Cost: $1,595 per person, double occupancy, including tuition, lodging, most meals, ground transportation and entrance fees. Air fare to El Paso, Texas, is extra.

Contact: Crow Canyon Archaeological Center; tel. (800) 422-8975 or (970) 565-8975, Ext. 146, Internet https://www.crowcanyon.org.

Africa: Mali

Visit the fabled city of Timbuktu in Mali, Africa, on a trip Oct. 1 to 15. The tour starts in Bamako, Mali, and visits the Dogon people. Next the group will take a motorized, covered canoe down the Niger River to Timbuktu, then will travel overland to Djenne to visit a mosque. The tour returns to Bamako.

Cost: $3,150 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from New York, lodging, meals and ground transportation.

Contact: West African Safaris, P.O. Box 365, Oakdale, CA 95361; tel. (888) 454-7710, Internet https:// www.westafricansafaris.com.

Africa: Okavango

Starting Nov. 14, the Santa Ana Zoo is hosting a 12-day African safari to the Okavango Delta, Botswana, an oasis in the middle of the Kalahari Desert. Participants will glide on the delta in a dugout canoe and explore the savanna in open Land Rovers in search of wild dogs, leopards, cheetahs, buffalo and elephants. Accommodations throughout Botswana will be in luxury tent camps designed to integrate with the natural surroundings.

Cost: $4,995 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles. Optional trips are also available to Cape Town, South Africa, and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. The tour is limited to 16 travelers.

Contact: Ron Glazier at the Santa Ana Zoo; tel. (714) 647-6598.

Australia: Queensland

Inta-Aussie South Pacific is offering a 10-day tour designed to highlight the South Queensland region. The itinerary includes visits to the Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort, including buffet breakfast and launch transfers; Brisbane, with a day at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and a river cruise; the beach in Noosa; and two nights at Kingfisher Bay Resort on Fraser Island, including a four-wheel-drive tour of the island. Tours are available with midweek departures from Sept. 1 through Dec. 8.

Cost: $1,824 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles to Brisbane, lodging, some meals and ground transportation.

Contact: Inta-Aussie South Pacific; tel. (800) 531-9222.

The Times is not responsible for changes in prices, dates or itineraries. These should be confirmed with cruise lines, travel agents or tour operators.