© Sumita Roy Dutta / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0Airbus AS350 B3e
The helicopter you will see most in Nepal. This type made the highest helicopter landing ever, on the summit of Everest.
Seats5
Ceiling23,000 ft
Cruise120 kt
Wake up in Kathmandu. Have breakfast at Everest
Base Camp, the Annapurna Sanctuary, Muktinath — and back before lunch. Tell every licensed operator where you want to go, then pick the price you like.
- One request reaches every licensed operator that flies your route.
- They have four hours to answer, then the request closes.
- You pay nothing until you accept one of their prices.
CAANCivil Aviation Authority of Nepal
Every operator we list holds a current flying licence
- NTB Nepal Tourism Board
- TAAN Trekking Agents' Association
- NMA Nepal Mountaineering Association
- IATA Travel industry approved
Where everyone's flying
Six mornings worth booking a trip around
Real photographs of the places these aircraft actually land, and the cheapest seat we have seen on each.
Pay less
Three ways to fly for a lot less
None of these are sales that end on Friday. They are structural reasons a helicopter costs less, and they are available every day of the year.
- Best value
Buy one seat, not five
Most scenic helicopters carry five. If there are two of you, join a flight other travellers are already filling and pay for two seats instead of the aircraft.
See shared departures - Somebody else's return leg
Empty legs
A helicopter that has dropped its passengers has to fly home anyway. Those legs go cheap because the alternative is flying them empty.
Browse empty legs - Groups of four or more
Take the whole aircraft
You pay for the helicopter, not per head. Past about four people the private charter costs each of you less than five single seats would.
Price a charter
Compare and book
Every operator on your route, one page
Prices for a single seat and for the whole helicopter, side by side, from every operator that flies it. The same Everest tour can cost fifteen per cent more from one company than another.
We cannot show the routes right now.
Call +977 1 4000 900 or use the Flight Desk below and we will quote you directly.
Shared seats
Flights you can join
Buy one or two seats on a flight other travellers are already filling, instead of paying for the whole helicopter.
- Filling3 seats left$499 a seatJoin Everest Base Camp
Everest Base Camp
Departs most mornings
- Filling2 seats left$399 a seatJoin Annapurna Base Camp
Annapurna Base Camp
Daily from Pokhara
- Filling4 seats left$350 a seatJoin Muktinath Darshan
Muktinath Darshan
Daily when the weather is good
- Filling2 seats left$599 a seatJoin Lukla to Kathmandu
Lukla to Kathmandu
Same day, whenever you need it
- Certified operators compared
- 8
- Routes across Nepal
- 10
- Hold a current AOC
- 100%
- Emergency dispatch
- 24/7
One morning, three landings
What the Everest day actually looks like
- VNKT
Kathmandu
1,338mWheels up 06:15, first light
- VNLK
Lukla
2,846mFuel stop, 7 to 15 minutes, on the way out and back
- LZ
Kala Patthar
5,545m10 to 15 minutes on the ground
- The Airbus H125 is cleared to fly as high as 7,010 m. It is the only single engine helicopter that can do this trip.
- Above Lukla the passengers can weigh 250 kg in total. Between Kathmandu and Lukla the limit is 500 kg. With more than three passengers the high part of the trip is flown in two trips from Pheriche, at 4,370 m.
- The ten minutes at Kala Patthar are set by what the helicopter can safely do, not by the timetable. At 5,545 m it is near its limit and the pilot will not stay longer.
- The wind in the Khumbu valley picks up by 11:00 and closes the window. That is why every Everest flight on this site leaves in the morning.
Where you'll go
The view from the helicopter
Kala Patthar at 5,545 m. The Lukla runway, 527 m long and built on a slope. The Kali Gandaki, the deepest gorge on earth.
Five ways to fly
Tours, private hire, shared seats, rescue and company work
From one shared seat over Everest to a same day rescue out of the Khumbu.
Scenic and tour flights
Everest, Annapurna and Langtang from the air, back the same morning.
Learn morePrivate charters
The whole helicopter, your timing, nobody else on board.
Learn moreShared seat bookings
Buy one or two seats on a flight other travellers are already filling.
Learn moreMedical rescue flights
Emergency flights out of the trekking areas. Call us to start one.
Learn moreCompany and custom flights
Regular transport, survey work, filming and cargo flights.
Learn moreWhy us
One search instead of eight browser tabs
Nepal has excellent helicopter operators and no easy way to compare them. Every company has its own website, its own prices and its own inbox. We put them all on one page. The same Everest tour can cost about fifteen per cent more from one operator than another, and there is nowhere else you can see that.
Compare instead of guessing
See every operator that flies your route, with their prices side by side. One operator's own website cannot show you that.
Nothing to pay upfront
Operators send you a price and you choose. You pay only after you accept one. If none of them suit you, you pay nothing.
Licensed operators only
We check every operator's flying licence and take them off the site the day it runs out.
Honest about the weather
Flying in the Himalaya depends on the weather. We would rather tell you that now than at the helipad.
Talk to a person
Prakash Shrestha
Charter specialist, 12 years booking flights in Kathmandu
Tell me your dates and how many of you there are. I will tell you which operators really have a helicopter free, not just who replies first.
The aircraft
What you'll fly in
Nepal uses single engine AS350 and H125 helicopters for high mountain work, and twin engine machines for cargo and rescue.
© Sumita Roy Dutta / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
© Calistemon / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0Airbus H125
The newer version of the AS350. It can carry more weight high up, which makes it the usual choice for Everest and Annapurna tours.
Seats5
Ceiling23,000 ft
Cruise120 kt
© Highway Patrol Images / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0Bell 412EP
Two engines and a bigger cabin. It is used for larger groups, for carrying cargo underneath, and for rescues a smaller helicopter cannot do.
Seats9
Ceiling20,000 ft
Cruise120 kt
Four steps
How booking works
One request reaches every licensed operator that flies your route. They have four hours to answer. You pay nothing until you accept one of them, and if nobody answers in time the request ends and you pay nothing.
- 01
Search your route
Pick where you want to go, when, and how many of you are travelling.
- 02
Compare operators
See every certified operator's price for that exact flight, cheapest first.
- 03
Request your dates
Send the request to the operator you choose. Nothing is charged at this point.
- 04
Confirm and fly
They accept within four hours, you pay, and you get your departure time.
As featured in
- The Himalayan Times
- Kathmandu Post
- Online Khabar
- Nepali Times
- Outside
- Condé Nast Traveller
Flown with us
Reviews come from completed flights
Every review here is linked to a real booking we can look up. We cannot write them, and neither can an operator.
No reviews published yet.
A review can only be written by someone who booked and flew — we cannot add them ourselves, and we would rather show none than show invented ones. The first will appear here once a flight is completed and reviewed.
Questions
Before you book
The things people ask before their first helicopter flight.
Still unsure? Ask us directly.
What happens if the weather cancels my flight?
You are not charged for a flight that does not happen. The operator will offer you the next time that works, or give all your money back if you cannot wait. Weather in the Himalaya can close a valley with very little warning. During the monsoon, from June to August, delays are normal rather than unusual.
Does my weight matter?
It matters more than almost anything else. A helicopter can lift much less as it climbs higher, so every operator sets a weight limit for each passenger. It is usually 75 kg including your day bag, and you will be weighed at check in. If your group weighs more than you told us, the operator may fly you up in two trips or turn the flight down.
Is the flight insured?
Yes, and you do not have to arrange it. The operator flying you covers the helicopter and everyone on board with their own insurance. We check that their flying licence and their insurance are still valid before they can take a single booking, and any operator whose papers run out stops getting work the same day. Their name is on your booking and on your invoice, so you can always see who is flying you.
How far ahead should I book?
In the busy months, October and November and then March and April, book two to four weeks ahead for a shared seat. Leave longer if you want the whole helicopter on a set date. At quieter times a few days is usually enough. Lukla transfers and rescue flights go the same day.
When do I actually pay?
Only after an operator accepts your request, never before. You send your dates, the operator has four hours to accept or turn it down, and nothing is payable until one of them accepts. If nobody answers in time, the request ends and you pay nothing.
Can I buy just one or two seats?
Yes, on most scenic routes. Sharing puts you on a flight other travellers are filling, at roughly an eighth of the price of the whole helicopter. Restricted routes like Upper Mustang, and all rescue work, have to be booked as a whole helicopter.
Travel tips, offers and stories
From our blog
Route guide
The best time of year for an Everest Base Camp helicopter tour
October and November give you the clearest air of the year. Here is what each season actually looks like from the cockpit, and when not to bother.
Photographs: © calflier001 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 · © stevehicks / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 · © valcker / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
October and November are the clearest weeks of the year.
They are also the weeks every operator fills first. Compare all eight on your route in one place. You pay nothing until one of them accepts your dates.