Pros and Cons of Everest Heli Tour

Everest Heli Tour is a once in a lifetime opportunity that will take you straight into the heart of the highest peak on the earth. The whole experience, from hopping on your chopper to enjoying evening snack at your hotel while reminiscing the day, can be completed within a matter of few hours. Your helicopter will take off from Tribhuwan International Airport and land at Lukla for a refuel. From there, you’ll be flown over beautiful Sherpa villages and Namche Bazaar and taken to the Everest Base Camp. While this may all seem magical, there are some positives and negatives to this experience. Here we have weighed the pros and cons of Everest Heli Tour.

The Pros

It is a private affair

Unlike mountain flight where you share the plane with 15 to 20 other passengers, Everest heli tour is an exclusive and a very private affair. If you go with your own group, the experience escalates even further. You will also get to land at the very base camp of the highest summit in the world and the most popular viewpoint of the region. While trekkers trek through off-beaten path for weeks to reach the base camp, you can do so in just 30 minutes or so.

Guaranteed best views

While treks offer awesome ground-level views and mountain flights offer stunning aerial views, Everest Heli tours offer the best of both worlds. As soon as your chopper takes off, the beautiful central peaks like Langtang Lirung and Yangra will reveal themselves. Once you reach the Khumbu region, you will be overwhelmed by the number of towering peaks around you including the Everest itself. Well, that’s just the beginning. When your chopper lands at the base camp and Kala Pathhar (optional), you will once again be stunned by the surreal views of these mountains. You can take as many photos as you want, and create wonderful memories. 

Saves the time and effort

While trekkers trek for weeks on end through off-beaten and remote trails to reach Everest Base Camp, you can reach this destination in just half an hour. You don’t have to battle blistered feet, numb knees, and thinning air every day to reach the base camp. Everest Heli tour is a beautiful luxury that is true good to be true. It is especially great for people who are willing to have a first-hand experience of the Everest but are short of time or don’t have the physical capability to undertake it.

The Cons

Heli Scams

The burgeoning tourism and aviation industry of Nepal has also given birth to some fraudulent companies that scam tourists relentlessly. One such widespread trick is Heli Scams, in which operators present fake insurance claims without the knowledge of the traveler and pocket all the money. Moreover, these companies sometimes even stage a forceful landing without the consent of travelers to support their illicit motives.

It is expensive

When compared to mountain flights, Everest Heli tour is considerably expensive. While mountain flights will cost you around USD $200-$250, heli tours can cost anywhere between $1500-2500. The price may seem incredibly expensive, but you should realise that this experience will let you land and spend some time at the Everest Base Camp. If you want, the chopper will even stop at Kala Paththar, the most famous viewpoint in Khumbu region.

Altitude Sickness

Unlike a trekking experience where you gradually acclimatize to thinning air, during Everest Heli tour, you will be reaching a higher elevation within 30-35 minutes. Thus, there are potential risks of altitude sickness. While the helicopter will have ample supply of oxygen if anyone feels uncomfortable, you can also be flown down to Lukla or Kathmandu quickly in case of an emergency. However, it is very rare that the trip is cancelled halfway due to altitude sickness emergency. So, don’t worry.

Unpredictable weather and visibility

In the mountains, the clouds roll in super quickly. On top of that, the weather is also unpredictable. It might be sunny one moment and snowing the next. Thus, you have to be very careful and patient regarding your flight time. The flights may get frequently postponed or even cancelled if the weather and visibility is unfavorable. Under no circumstance should you force your pilot to force to fly or take off or fly down as per your convenience.

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