Helicopter Tours from Pokhara

If you're already in Pokhara, you've done the hard part. The lake town sits at about 820 m, and on a clear morning the Annapurnas look close enough to touch from the water's edge. A helicopter closes that gap in minutes, which is why both of our Pokhara flights are short, early and finished in time for a late breakfast.

The two flights at a glance

• **Annapurna Base Camp**: about 2 hours from pickup to drop-off, a landing at 4,130 m and 15 to 20 minutes on the ground. From US$380 per person when five of you share the helicopter.
• **Muktinath**: about 3 hours in all, a landing near the temple at roughly 3,710 m and about an hour on the ground. From US$718 per person when five share.

Both take off at around 6:30, and both include a pickup from your hotel, whether that's in Lakeside or elsewhere in the city.

Which one is for you?

Pick Annapurna Base Camp if you mainly want to stand among the big peaks. This one is all about scenery: up a steep river gorge, through the gap below Machhapuchhre and down into a basin of ice, with Annapurna I, Annapurna South and Hiunchuli looking down at you. It's quick, it's dramatic, and it's the lowest price we have for a high landing anywhere in Nepal.

Pick Muktinath if the visit matters as much as the view. Most of the people who book it come for darshan at the temple, the 108 spouts and the flame at Jwala Mai, so we give you a full hour on the ground. The flight itself is no slouch either: it follows the Kali Gandaki with Dhaulagiri towering to the west and Nilgiri and the Annapurnas to the east.

Travelling with parents or grandparents? The Muktinath landing is a little lower, though the path from the helipad to the temple is a ten-minute climb up a flight of steps. If that sounds like too much, tell us and we'll organise a porter or a horse.

How a Pokhara flight morning goes

1. A car picks you up at your hotel at about 6:00.
2. You check in at Pokhara airport and take off at around 6:30, while the air is still.
3. You land, take your photographs or make your offerings, and the pilot tells you when it's time to board again.
4. You fly back down the same valley and are dropped at your hotel well before most cafés by the lake get busy.

Getting to Pokhara first

By road from Kathmandu it's a long day: the tourist bus needs six or seven hours, following the Trishuli river and then the Marsyangdi. The domestic flight takes about 25 minutes. Either way, plan to arrive the day before your helicopter flight, because everything happens at sunrise and you won't want to be rushing.

Starting in Kathmandu instead? We can fly either route from there. Annapurna Base Camp is about an hour each way from the capital, so it costs a good deal more than starting in Pokhara. Send us your date and group size for a Kathmandu price.

Weather and seasons

For Annapurna Base Camp, the clearest mornings come from October to December and from March to May. From December to March the landing is usually under snow, so boots with a proper grip are a good idea. Muktinath can be flown all year apart from the July and August monsoon. In the Kali Gandaki the wind picks up sharply after mid-morning, another reason these flights leave so early.

If the pilot decides it isn't safe to go, you can switch to another clear morning or take your money back in full. There's more on seasons in the best time to fly.

Prefer to walk in first?

If you have ten days, the Annapurna Base Camp trek with helicopter return takes you on foot through Ghandruk and Chhomrong to the Sanctuary, and then the helicopter brings you down to Pokhara in about twenty minutes. It's from US$1,248 per person. Our heli trek guide compares it with the other walk-in, fly-out trips.