© shankar s. / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0Every published route in Nepal, priced by each CAAN-certified operator that flies it — one seat and the whole aircraft, side by side. Or name any two landing sites in the country and they will quote that instead.
3 of 10 routes
Name two landing sites and every licensed operator that flies the leg prices it.
Side by side
The complete list as a table, because a price is only useful next to another price. One shared seat and the whole aircraft, in the two columns operators quote them in.
| Muktinath Darshan HelicopterHighest point 3,710 m · 60 min on the ground | Shared seatfrom US$350 | Whole helicopterfrom US$1,700 | Flight time2h 30m | Operators quoting3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gosaikunda Lake Helicopter TourHighest point 4,380 m · 30 min on the ground | Shared seatfrom US$499 | Whole helicopterfrom US$2,300 | Flight time2h | Operators quoting2 |
| Pathibhara Temple HelicopterHighest point 3,793 m · 45 min on the ground | Shared seatfrom US$425 | Whole helicopterfrom US$1,600 | Flight time1h 30m | Operators quoting2 |
Starting prices from operators currently quoting on each route. The price you are offered depends on your date, your group weight and how many aircraft are free that morning — which is what the request actually asks them. Nothing is charged until you accept a quote.
Five kinds of flight
They are not marketing labels. Each one flies differently, is priced differently, and is booked differently — and the difference between a scenic tour and a pilgrimage flight is an hour on the ground, not the view.
Before you pick a row
Every figure on this page is a starting price for a specific route. What decides which route — and which price — is actually yours comes down to these.
A five-seat Airbus H125 on the Everest tour costs roughly eight times a single shared seat, so a group of four or five pays less each by taking the aircraft — and gets to choose the departure time, which a shared flight never allows.
Himalayan valleys build cloud and wind from mid-morning, every day of the year. A scenic flight offered for the afternoon is a flight that is likely to be cancelled.
The five-seat figure holds at low altitude. Above about 5,000 m the same aircraft can only lift two or three people at a time, so a full group is shuttled up from an intermediate point such as Pheriche — the flight is not shorter, it is flown twice.
Questions about routes and prices
Shared seats on the shorter pilgrimage and valley routes are the cheapest way into a helicopter in Nepal, starting around USD 350 per person for Muktinath and around USD 400 for Annapurna Base Camp. Everest routes cost more because they are longer, climb higher and need a fuel stop. The cheapest whole-aircraft flights are the short transfers rather than the tours. An empty leg — a helicopter that has to fly home anyway — is cheaper than any of them, but you have to take the date it is going.
A seat is cheaper for one or two people; the whole helicopter is cheaper per head from about four. A five-seat Airbus H125 on the Everest tour costs roughly eight times a single shared seat, so a group of four or five pays less each by taking the aircraft — and gets to choose the departure time, which a shared flight never lets you do. Below four people, sharing wins on price and loses on flexibility.
Broadly yes, and the routes listed here are only the published ones. Any two landing sites in the country can be chartered as a point-to-point sector, including sites with no published price, and operators will quote a leg that appears nowhere on this page. Restricted areas — Upper Mustang, Dolpo, the northern border districts — need a permit issued per aircraft and several days' notice. Weather and daylight are the real constraints, not the map.
Five passengers in the Airbus AS350 and H125, which is what almost all mountain work is flown on, and nine in the twin-engine Bell 412 used for cargo and rescue. The five-seat figure holds at low altitude. Above about 5,000 m the same aircraft can only carry two or three at a time, so a full group is shuttled up from an intermediate point such as Pheriche — the flight is not shorter, it is flown twice.
In October, November, March and April, shared seats on the Everest and Annapurna tours fill two to four weeks ahead and whole aircraft on a fixed date go earlier than that. Outside those months a day or two is usually enough. Point-to-point transfers and all rescue flights are arranged the same day, year-round. Sending a request costs nothing and closes in four hours, so there is no reason to hold a date by guessing.
Yes, though less than hotel prices do. Operators quote higher in the two peak windows because every aircraft is committed, and lower in the monsoon when they are not. Aviation fuel is the larger driver: it is imported, priced in dollars, and a fuel move passes into charter rates within weeks. Because prices here come from the operators rather than from us, the figures on this page move when theirs do.
© Hitesh Chaudhary / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0Pokhara to the Muktinath temple with an hour on the ground for darshan, avoiding two days of road travel.
Per person
US$350Whole aircraft
US$1,700© Sahilguraya / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0The sacred alpine lake at 4,380 m, reached in forty minutes rather than three days on foot.
Per person
US$499Whole aircraft
US$2,300
© Sarojpandey / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0Biratnagar to the Pathibhara Devi temple in eastern Nepal, replacing a long drive and a four-hour climb.
Per person
US$425Whole aircraft
US$1,600