Short trekFamily friendly
Kathmandu · Lukla · Phakding · Namche · Everest View Hotel3,880 m
8D / 7N4.7(0)
Everest View Trek (Family Trek)
The short Khumbu walk that tops out at 3,880 m
- Flights in
- Teahouse
- All meals on
From, per person
$0
$0/day
Everest Base Camp Helicopter Tour
A morning charter to Kala Patthar and back before lunch
- Kathmandu · Lukla · Kala Patthar · Everest View Hotel
- 1 days, 0 nights
- Packed pace · Easy
- 4.8(271 reviews)
Overview
In short
The helicopter day tour exists because Everest Base Camp on foot takes twelve to fourteen days and not everyone has that, or the knees for it. You lift off from Kathmandu at around 6.30am, refuel at Lukla, fly up the Khumbu past Namche and Tengboche, and land briefly at Kala Patthar for the classic view of Everest's south-west face, Nuptse and the Khumbu Icefall. Then a hot breakfast at Hotel Everest View before the run back. Be clear about the constraints. An AS350 B3e can carry five passengers at low altitude but only two or three above 5,000 metres, so your group is weighed and shuttled up in rotations from Pheriche or Kala Patthar Base — everyone gets the landing, just not all at once. The landing itself lasts ten to fifteen minutes. And flights are grounded outright in cloud, which happens often.
What you will actually do
- Landing at Kala Patthar, around 5,545 m, the standard viewpoint for Everest's south-west face
- Aerial line up the Khumbu — Lukla, Namche Bazaar at 3,440 m, Tengboche monastery at 3,867 m
- Everest Base Camp and the Khumbu Icefall seen from directly above
- Hot breakfast on the terrace of Hotel Everest View at 3,880 m
- Back at your Kathmandu hotel by around 11am, same day
- Oxygen cylinder and pulse oximeter carried on board as standard
Day by day
1 days planned in full. Drive times and walking hours are stated so you can judge the pace before you book.
Day 1
Kathmandu to Kala Patthar and back
Everest RegionHotel pick-up at 5.15am for the domestic terminal, weigh-in and safety brief. Airborne by about 6.30am, a fuel stop at Lukla at 2,860 metres, then up the Dudh Koshi past Namche and Tengboche. Passengers are shuttled in twos and threes to Kala Patthar for a ten to fifteen minute landing at roughly 5,545 metres. Breakfast at Hotel Everest View, then back to Kathmandu.Lukla ·Namche Bazaar ·Tengboche Monastery ·Kala Patthar ·Khumbu Icefall ·Hotel Everest View
- Meals included
- Breakfast
- Transfer
- Hotel to domestic terminal and return, 20 minutes each way
What the price covers — and what it does not
Included
- Shared helicopter charter, Kathmandu–Lukla–Kala Patthar–Everest View–Kathmandu
- Landing at Kala Patthar, subject to weather and passenger weight rotation
- Hot breakfast at Hotel Everest View, 3,880 m
- Sagarmatha National Park entry permit, NPR 3,000, about USD 23
- Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality fee, NPR 2,000, about USD 15
- All airport, landing and fuel-surcharge taxes
- Supplementary oxygen cylinder and pulse oximeter carried on board
- Hotel pick-up and drop in Kathmandu
- Down jacket loan for the Kala Patthar landing
- Full refund or free reschedule if the flight is cancelled for weather
Not included
- International flights and Nepal visa fees
- Hotel nights in Kathmandu before or after the tour
- Private charter supplement — approximately USD 4,600 for the whole machine
- Travel insurance, which must cover helicopter evacuation above 5,500 m
- Additional Kathmandu nights if your flight is postponed to a later date
- Personal expenses, drinks and anything bought at Hotel Everest View
- Tips for the pilot and ground crew
Upcoming departures
Shared charter, 5 seats — private charter of the whole machine on request. Seat counts are live at the last catalogue update; we confirm availability in writing before taking any payment.
- Tue06OCT2026
Departs Kathmandu
Available5 left
$1,150Hold a seat - Mon02NOV2026
Departs Kathmandu
Last few seats2 left
$1,250Hold a seat - Wed09DEC2026
Departs Kathmandu
Available5 left
$1,150Hold a seat - Mon08MAR2027
Departs Kathmandu
Filling fast3 left
$1,220Hold a seat - Mon05APR2027
Departs Kathmandu
Filling fast4 left
$1,290Hold a seat - Mon10MAY2027
Departs Kathmandu
Available5 left
$1,195Hold a seat
Questions about this trip
How often does this flight get cancelled?
Often enough that you should not book it on your last morning in Nepal. Cloud, wind and visibility over the Khumbu decide everything, and October to early December and March to May are the most reliable months. Monsoon flights are cancelled frequently. If we cannot fly, you get a full refund or a free reschedule.
Will everyone in the group actually land at Kala Patthar?
Yes, but not simultaneously. The AS350 B3e can carry five people at Kathmandu altitude and only two or three above 5,000 metres, so the pilot drops part of the group at a lower staging point and shuttles up in rotations. Each rotation gets ten to fifteen minutes on the ground. Weigh-in decides who flies in which rotation.
Is altitude sickness a risk on a helicopter tour?
Yes. You go from 1,400 metres to about 5,545 metres in roughly ninety minutes with no acclimatisation, so light-headedness and breathlessness are normal. The landing is kept short for exactly this reason. Anyone with a heart condition, uncontrolled hypertension or severe asthma should get medical clearance before booking.
Can this replace the Everest Base Camp trek?
It replaces the view, not the experience. You will see Everest, Nuptse and the Khumbu Icefall in a morning, which the trek takes eight days to reach. What you miss is Namche on a market day, Sherpa villages, and the slow acclimatisation that makes arriving at Base Camp mean something. Many people do both, years apart.
What should I wear on the flight?
Layers. Kathmandu is mild at dawn, and Kala Patthar in the early morning can sit between minus ten and minus fifteen degrees Celsius with wind. Wear trekking shoes, thermals, a fleece and gloves; we lend a down jacket. Sunglasses matter more than you think at that altitude, and so does sunscreen.
What travellers said
Honest about the weather risk
Our Everest helicopter day was cancelled twice for cloud. They rebooked without arguing and refunded the difference when the third attempt flew as a shared charter. Frustrating weather, faultless handling.
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