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Helicopter services

Helicopter services in Nepal

One shared seat over Everest at first light, a same-day rescue out of the Khumbu, and three things in between. All flown by CAAN-certified operators, none flown by us.

Things a helicopter does here
5Things a helicopter does here
Shared seat, from
US$350Shared seat, from
Seats aboard, maximum
5Seats aboard, maximum
Rescue desk, by phone
24 hRescue desk, by phone

The five

One job each, and what it actually costs you

Every one of these is flown by an operator holding a current Air Operator Certificate, and priced by that operator rather than by us.

Everest and Lhotse from cruise altitude, seen past the window pillar of a helicopter cabin.© shankar s. / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0

01

Scenic and tour flights

3–5 h door to door

Everest, Annapurna and Langtang from the air, back the same morning.

This is the classic Nepal helicopter trip. You take off from Kathmandu or Pokhara at first light, fly up the valley while the air is still calm, land high up for a short photo stop, and get back in time for lunch.

Most tours take three to five hours from door to door. That includes a fuel stop and a short landing at the viewpoint. Everest tours include breakfast at Hotel Everest View. Annapurna tours land inside the sanctuary itself.

The air is very thin above 5,000 m. Landings are kept short on purpose, and the pilot often takes the group up in two trips so the helicopter is not carrying too much weight. This is done for safety, not to save money.

Suits

A first flight, on a fixed morning, back before lunch.

The catch

Landings above 5,000 m are kept short, and the group often goes up in two lifts.

Browse scenic flights
A helicopter dwarfed by the snow and ice face of Nilgiri, the wall above the Kali Gandaki.© Roman Raghu Shrestha / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

02

Private charters

Whole aircraft

The whole helicopter, your timing, nobody else on board.

Book the whole helicopter for your group. You pick the date, the plan and the take off time. The only limits are the weather and the rest hours the crew has to follow.

This suits families, small groups, film crews and anyone carrying equipment. It is also the only choice on restricted routes like Upper Mustang, where each permit covers one helicopter.

You pay for the helicopter, not for each person. So a group of five usually pays less each than five people buying single seats.

Suits

Four or five people, film crews, anyone carrying equipment.

The catch

The only option on restricted routes like Upper Mustang — one permit, one helicopter.

Get a private quote
A helicopter crossing the Langtang range on a clear morning, ridge behind ridge falling back into the haze.© Shadow Ayush / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

03

Shared seat bookings

From US$350 a seat

Buy one or two seats on a flight other travellers are already filling.

Most scenic helicopters carry five people. If there are two of you, there is no need to pay for five. You can buy two seats on a flight other travellers are already filling.

Sharing costs far less. An Everest tour is about $4,000 for the whole helicopter and about $500 a seat when you share it.

The catch is that you have less control. A shared flight needs a set number of seats sold before it can go, and the operator picks the exact time. If it does not fill, they will offer you another date or give all your money back.

Suits

One or two travellers who can move their date.

The catch

The flight needs its seats sold before it goes. If it does not fill, you rebook or refund.

See shared departures
A helicopter working in close against a gorge wall in the Khumbu, waterfalls dropping past it.© Sumita Roy Dutta / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

04

Medical rescue flights

24 h · by phone

Emergency flights out of the trekking areas. Call us to start one.

Altitude sickness, injury and illness in the high valleys need a helicopter, and they need it the same day. We send emergency requests straight to operators who keep crews ready and can lift people out on a rope where there is nowhere to land.

Please call instead of sending an email. Rescue flights in Nepal are arranged by phone, and email is far too slow when someone is getting worse at 5,000 m.

The operator flying you covers the helicopter and everyone on board with their own insurance. We check that their licence and their insurance are still valid before they can take any work here. There is nothing for you to arrange.

Suits

Anyone ill or injured above the road head.

The catch

Telephone, not email. Nepali rescue is dispatched by voice.

Request an evacuation
A helicopter standing on a snowfield in the Annapurna Sanctuary with a party beside it, the wall of peaks ringing them.© Sgroey / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

05

Company and custom flights

Priced per job

Regular transport, survey work, filming and cargo flights.

For companies that move people or equipment to a schedule. This covers getting to a work site, survey and mapping flights, filming from the air, and staff transport between Kathmandu and airfields around the country.

Regular work is agreed straight with the operator at a rate you settle between you, rather than the standard tour price.

Tell us what you need and we will show you the operators who can actually do it.

Suits

Companies moving people or equipment to a schedule.

The catch

The rate is agreed directly with the operator rather than taken from a tour price.

Talk to us

Start here

Which one do you actually need?

Five descriptions answer “what is this” five times and “which of these is me” not once. Find your situation on the left.

Which helicopter service in Nepal suits which situation, and why.
One or two of us, and we want to see Everest or AnnapurnaShared seatYou join a departure other travellers are filling and pay per person instead of for five seats.
Four or five of us, or we want to choose the departure timeScenic tour, whole aircraftFrom about four people the whole helicopter costs less per head than seats, and the morning becomes yours.
We need to get from A to B and the view is not the pointPrivate charterA transfer between any two landing sites — Lukla out, a missed connection, an airfield with no scheduled service.
Somebody is ill or injured above the road headMedical rescueCall, do not fill in a form. Nepali rescue is dispatched by voice and minutes matter at altitude.
We are carrying equipment, filming, surveying or supplying a siteCompany and custom workPriced against the job rather than a tour rate, and flown by operators holding the right aerial-work approval.

True of every operator on this site

  • A current CAAN air operator certificate
  • Insurance checked before any work is accepted
  • One request reaching every certified operator
  • A listing removed the day a certificate lapses
  • Nothing to pay to compare
  • Us as the marketplace, never as the operator

Questions

Questions about helicopter services in Nepal

The five differ by who else is on board, who sets the timetable, and what it costs.

What is the difference between a shared seat and a private helicopter charter?

A shared seat puts you on a departure other travellers are filling, so it is far cheaper but leaves when the seats sell and follows a fixed itinerary. A private charter is the whole aircraft — typically five seats — on your own timetable, with the freedom to add a landing or extend time on the ground. On the Everest tour a whole aircraft costs roughly seven to eight times one seat, so the crossover is between four and five passengers.

How much does a helicopter cost per hour in Nepal?

Private helicopter charter in Nepal typically runs US$1,800 to US$2,600 per hour of block time for a five-seat AS350 or H125. Block time is charged from rotor start to rotor stop, not just the airborne portion, and positioning the aircraft to where your flight begins is billed as well when it is not already there.

Which helicopter service is cheapest?

An empty leg is the cheapest way to fly by helicopter in Nepal, typically 40 to 70 per cent below the charter price, because the aircraft is already repositioning after a drop-off and the flight is happening either way. The trade is that you take the date and direction the aircraft is going rather than choosing them.

Do you need to book a helicopter rescue in advance?

No. Helicopter medical evacuation in Nepal is dispatched by phone at the moment it is needed, on the rescue line +977 97 0401 9967, with no account and no prior booking. What is worth arranging in advance is insurance that actually covers helicopter evacuation at the altitude you will be trekking at.

Can a helicopter fly anywhere in Nepal?

Almost anywhere there is a safe landing surface and the aircraft has the performance for the altitude, which is the real constraint rather than distance. Above about 6,000 m a conventional helicopter cannot land at all, and landings above 5,000 m are commonly split into two shuttles because thin air reduces how much the aircraft can lift. Some areas also require permits or are closed to non-rescue landings.

Are all helicopter operators in Nepal licensed?

Every operator listed on Go Heli Nepal holds a current Air Operator Certificate issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, and a listing is removed the day a certificate lapses. CAAN certification is what makes a commercial flight legal; trade-body membership is not the same thing and is not a substitute for it.

Where to go next

Once you know which one it is

Each of these is the page that actually books, prices or explains the thing you have just chosen.

Not sure which service fits?

Tell us what you need and we will point you at the operators who can actually do it — including when the answer is that nobody can.

Get a quoteBrowse flights
Call the deskWhatsAppRescue and medevac — call +977 97 0401 9967