It’s not everyone’s dream to be Sir Edmund Hillary or Tenzing Norgay Sherpa. Who wants to don bulky attire and an oxygen mask? Not even those fashion shows staged on Everest will tempt us out of our warm and cozy Louis Vuitton. But what might just do it is what is being offered now by an enterprising young Nepali company. Helicopter flights, perfectly paced at around five hours in length, to the best parts of Everest.
Helicopter Tour to Mt Everest
This year has seen a sudden upsurge of people who wish to visit the world’s highest mountain without any of the stress and strain. With the classic trekking route to Everest Base Camp taking around 12 days, there seems to be a new market for those who wish to see the mountain in a shorter and more comfortable timeframe.
While there have been plane rides around the Everest Region for decades, these are often impacted by bad weather conditions; and you cannot get off the plane up there in the mountains. Interestingly, the new Everest Base Camp Heli Tour enables passengers to disembark at two locations that give the best possible views of the iconic mountains, plus another stop at the high-altitude airport initiated by Edmund Hillary in 1964.
Starting off at Kathmandu, Nepal, at 6 am – hopefully, there is a cup of coffee available at the heli site – the tour starts by flying out of the Kathmandu Valley over low hills and farmlands. Arriving some 45 minutes later at that high-altitude airport at Lukla, aptly named the Hillary Tenzing Airport, it is necessary to refuel. This gives passengers time to watch some of the early morning planes arrive with trekkers loaded down with trekking gear before climbing back into their comfortable seats and flying off.
Surprisingly, the lower parts of the mountains have pine forest cover and fast-flowing rivers, before the landscape gives way to more rocky trails than you would expect to see in the Himalayas. The pilot, who is acting as your guide, will point out Namche Bazaar as you fly over. Namche is the biggest market town in the area and where it is possible to obtain Americano, Guinness, and last-minute purchases before heading into the mountains proper.
As for the helicopter, it will fly over Everest Base Camp but cannot land there due to the formation of the land. It is actually part of the Khumbu Ice Falls, notoriously unstable and tricky to cross. Best not to try to land a heavy aircraft there except in emergencies! The helicopter does land at the much more stable location of Kalapattar. Here there is time to disembark to take fabulous Instagram-worthy photographs and, dare we say it, Tik Tok videos.
The other landing site does indeed have coffee. Because by now we need it. Hotel Everest View was built by Takashi Miyahara from Japan who was so stunned by the location while trekking that he vowed he would build a hotel there. That was in 1968. Designed by Japanese architect Yoshinobu Kumagaya and built by Sherpas, this unique hotel, both in terms of location and style, was opened in 1971. Sip your coffee, eat your breakfast, and gaze in awe at nature’s work in front of you. There is no artist quite like mother nature and no canvas quite like the Himalayas. Mt Everest is on display of course but there are a host of other imposing mountains as well. No wonder Takashi wished to build here.
A final round of the area and the helicopter turns towards Kathmandu to bring passengers back to the city in time for lunch.
Costs and Safety of Everest Base Camp Helicopter Tour
Regarding the cost of this unique adventure, there is a choice. It is possible to buy a seat on a group tour helicopter, which carries 5 or 6 people. It is also possible to charter the whole helicopter for yourself and your friends. The cost per seat is $1,175 USD and for the whole helicopter is $4900 USD. With the charter comes the possibility of adding other stops to the itinerary, but these have to be discussed in advance. Why not have your own fashion shoot with the most stunning background in the world?
Each pilot is highly experienced in flying at high altitudes and oxygen is onboard in case it is required. It is unlikely that it will be required as passengers do not spend enough time at altitude to have a bad reaction to it. On the subject of safety, it is not recommended to take small children on this tour as the helicopter seats in Nepal are not configured for their small bodies. Otherwise, everyone is welcome to this special experience.
Written in partnership with Tedfuel
