Every airport and helipad we fly from
We quote helicopter flights through 8 Nepali airports and 10 Himalayan landing sites, from Biratnagar Airport at 72 m (236 ft) to Kala Patthar landing site at 5,545 m (18,192 ft). Each has its own page: altitude in metres and feet, codes, coordinates, the air at that height, flight time from Kathmandu and the flights there.
- Airports
- 8
- Landing sites
- 10
- Highest, Kala Patthar
- 5,545 m
Registered aerodromes
Each has a four-letter ICAO code, which in Nepal begins VN. The three-letter IATA code, the one printed on an airline ticket, appears only where airlines fly a schedule.
Helipads with no runway
Base camps, viewpoints and temple sites. None is an aerodrome, so none has an ICAO code. The NP codes are our own, so a dispatcher and a pilot name the same patch of ground.
What each height does to the air you breathe is in the altitude and oxygen table.
The altitude of every airport and landing site
Each link opens that place's page: its height, codes, position, the air there and the flights through it.
- Biratnagar Airport altitude72 m (236 ft) · VNVT · BIR · Morang
- Jomsom Airport2,736 m (8,976 ft) · VNJS · JMO · Mustang
- Kathmandu Airport altitude1,338 m (4,390 ft) · VNKT · KTM · Kathmandu
- Lukla Tenzing-Hillary Airport2,845 m (9,334 ft) · VNLK · LUA · Solukhumbu
- Nepalgunj Airport altitude165 m (540 ft) · VNNG · KEP · Banke
- Pokhara Airport827 m (2,712 ft) · VNPK · PKR · Kaski
- Syangboche Airport3,780 m (12,402 ft) · VNSB · Solukhumbu
- Tumlingtar Airport altitude488 m (1,600 ft) · VNTR · TMI · Sankhuwasabha
- Annapurna Base Camp altitude4,130 m (13,550 ft) · NPAB · Kaski
- Gosaikunda altitude4,380 m (14,370 ft) · NPGK · Rasuwa
- Hotel Everest View altitude3,880 m (12,729 ft) · NPEV · Solukhumbu
- Kala Patthar altitude5,545 m (18,192 ft) · NPKP · Solukhumbu
- Kyanjin Gompa altitude3,870 m (12,697 ft) · NPKG · Rasuwa
- Lo Manthang altitude3,810 m (12,500 ft) · NPLM · Mustang
- Manaslu Base Camp altitude4,801 m (15,750 ft) · NPMB · Gorkha
- Muktinath altitude3,710 m (12,172 ft) · NPMK · Mustang
- Pathibhara Temple altitude3,793 m (12,444 ft) · NPPT · Taplejung
- Tilicho Lake altitude4,919 m (16,138 ft) · NPTL · Manang
Codes, heights and what can land
How many airports are there in Nepal?
Nepal has around fifty aerodromes, most of them short mountain strips, and three are international: Kathmandu, Pokhara and Gautam Buddha at Bhairahawa. We quote helicopter flights through 8 of them: Biratnagar, Jomsom, Kathmandu Tribhuvan International, Lukla Tenzing-Hillary, Nepalgunj, Pokhara, Syangboche and Tumlingtar. Alongside them are 10 Himalayan landing sites with no ICAO code, because they are helipads rather than aerodromes.
What is the closest airport to Mount Everest?
Syangboche Airport is the nearest registered airport, about 29 km from the summit in a straight line. The one almost everyone means is Lukla Tenzing-Hillary Airport (ICAO VNLK, IATA LUA), about 39 km out. It has the scheduled service, and the Everest treks and most Everest helicopter itineraries begin there. Syangboche Airport has no scheduled flights. Closer than either is the helicopter landing at Kala Patthar (5,545 m), on the ridge above Gorak Shep, which is not an airport. No helicopter lands at Everest Base Camp itself.
What is the highest airport in Nepal?
Of the airports we fly through, Syangboche Airport is the highest, at 12,402 ft (3,780 m). Lukla Tenzing-Hillary Airport at 9,334 ft (2,845 m) and Jomsom Airport at 8,976 ft (2,736 m) follow. The helicopter landing sites are higher still: Kala Patthar landing site, at 18,192 ft (5,545 m), is the highest place we quote a flight to.
Which Nepali airports can a helicopter land at?
All of them, and many places that are not airports. A helicopter needs a level site and a clear approach rather than a runway, which is why 10 of the 18 sites on this page are helipads at base camps, viewpoints and temples, with no ICAO code and no scheduled service.
Does Pokhara have an international airport?
Yes. Pokhara International Airport, ICAO VNPR and IATA PHH, opened on 1 January 2023 about 3 km east of the original Pokhara Airport (ICAO VNPK, IATA PKR) and took over most scheduled flights. Almost all of Nepal's international traffic still moves through Kathmandu. For a helicopter the distinction rarely matters: Pokhara is the departure point for the Annapurna, Muktinath and Upper Mustang flights, all of them domestic, and the operator confirms which airport it uses.
Flying somewhere not on this list?
A helicopter needs a level site and a clear approach, not a runway. Send the place, the date and who is flying; we check it with every licensed operator that can land there and come back with the cheapest.