This year's event saw over 500 balloons from nearly 20 different countries glide across the New Mexican sky.
The festival is held in Albuquerque due to a wind pattern known as "the box" that makes it easier to navigate the giant balloons.
For several years, the festival was sponsored by Kodak and dubbed the most photographed event in the world.
Today, balloonists from South Africa to Thailand make the trek to Albuquerque to be part of the magic.
Between 1990 and 2007, six people died when their balloons hit power lines. And in 2013, two men were badly injured after their vessel hit a power line and sent them crashing down.
No injuries were reported this year. Pilots now have access to a new radar system and are better informed of wind patterns, according to the festival's executive director.
Source: Albuquerque Journal