Everest Base Camp Helicopter Day Tour
- Duration
- 1 day
- Max altitude
- 5,545 m
- Difficulty
-
Easy
Difficulty scale
- Easy Short walking days on good trails below about 3,000 m. Suitable for anyone in ordinary health, including families.
- Moderate 5 to 6 hours a day with some steep sections, reaching up to about 4,000 m. A reasonable level of fitness and a few weeks of preparation walking recommended.
- Strenuous 6 to 8 hours a day, high passes or altitudes above 5,000 m, and remote stretches. Good fitness, prior trekking experience and proper acclimatisation days are essential.
- Very strenuous Long days, multiple high passes or technical sections, sustained time above 5,000 m. For experienced, well-conditioned trekkers only.
- Best season
- Autumn (Sep–Nov) · Spring (Mar–May) · Winter (Dec–Feb)
- Group
- Private
- From
- $1,395.00
Overview
The trek to Everest Base Camp takes twelve days. The helicopter takes about four and a half hours door to door, lands twice, and has you back in Kathmandu by lunch. It is the single most expensive thing on this website and for some people it is the only way the mountain is ever going to happen.
Two landings. The first is at Kala Patthar at 5,545 m, the viewpoint above Gorak Shep that gives the clearest head on view of the Everest summit pyramid you can get without climbing. The second is at Everest View Hotel above Namche for breakfast, low enough to sit down and enjoy it.
Be clear about what this is not. You do not stand in Base Camp itself, because the glacier moraine is not a legal landing site for passengers. You see the Khumbu Icefall and the camp from above and from Kala Patthar.
Trip highlights
- A landing at Kala Patthar, 5,545 m, for the head on view of Everest
- The Khumbu Icefall and Base Camp seen from the air
- Breakfast at Everest View Hotel above Namche, at 3,880 m
- Lhotse, Nuptse, Ama Dablam, Pumori and Cho Oyu at close range
- Back in Kathmandu by early afternoon
- No trekking and no acclimatisation schedule
Day by day
The itinerary
-
Day 1: Kathmandu to Kala Patthar and back, with two landings 5,545 m 4 to 6 hours door to door hrs BreakfastatEverestViewHotel
Picked up from your hotel at about 5.30am and driven to the domestic terminal. Helicopters fly the Khumbu first thing, because by late morning the valley winds get up and the cloud builds.
Kathmandu to Lukla
About fifty minutes east, following the ridges. The aircraft refuels at Lukla or Syangboche, which is routine and takes a few minutes.
Up the Khumbu
North over Namche, Tengboche and Pheriche with Ama Dablam on your right, then over Gorak Shep with the Khumbu Icefall and Base Camp laid out below.
Kala Patthar
The landing is on the shoulder at 5,545 m. You get roughly ten minutes on the ground, and no longer, because of the altitude and the engine. That is enough for the view and a few photographs and it will leave you breathless walking twenty steps, which is entirely normal at that height.
Important: above about 5,000 m the aircraft can only carry two or three passengers at a time because of air density and payload. If you are a group of four or five, the pilot will shuttle you up in two runs from Gorak Shep or Pheriche. This is standard and it is built into the timings. Anyone who tells you five people land together at Kala Patthar in one lift is wrong.
Everest View Hotel
Back down to 3,880 m above Namche for breakfast on the terrace, with Everest and Ama Dablam in front of you. Around forty five minutes, which is also the sensible way to come off altitude.
Return
Back to Kathmandu, at your hotel by about 10.30am to noon depending on the shuttling.
What's included
Included
- Included: Return hotel transfer to the domestic terminal
- Included: Helicopter flight Kathmandu to Kala Patthar and Everest View Hotel and back
- Included: Landing at Kala Patthar, weather and payload permitting
- Included: Shuttle lifts above 5,000 m where the group size requires them
- Included: Breakfast at Everest View Hotel
- Included: Sagarmatha National Park entry permit and Khumbu Pasang Lhamu rural municipality fee
- Included: Supplementary oxygen on board
- Included: A Soulful Nepal representative with you at the terminal
- Included: All government taxes and administrative charges
Not included
- Not included: Lunch and dinner
- Not included: Any beverages
- Not included: Tips for the crew, your representative and driver
- Not included: Travel insurance. Your policy must cover helicopter travel and activity to 5,600 m, and most standard policies do not. Please check before booking
- Not included: Any additional charter cost if you ask to extend the flight or add a landing on the day
- Not included: Anything not listed under what is included
Know before you go
Suitability & requirements
- ⚠ Prakash: this price is derived from a charter cost of roughly USD 3,600 for up to five passengers plus permits and handling. Confirm it against your actual operator quote before this page goes public, and confirm which operator, because the per person figure moves a great deal with fuel and season. The ladder here assumes a private charter, which is what this site sells. If you also want to sell pooled seats, that needs a separate product.
Altitude. You go from 1,400 m to 5,545 m in under two hours with no acclimatisation, and step out into air with roughly half the oxygen of Kathmandu. Most people feel breathless, some get a headache, and a few feel genuinely unwell. Oxygen is on board. If you have a heart or lung condition, uncontrolled high blood pressure, are pregnant, or have had recent surgery, this flight is not advisable and we would rather tell you now. Anyone with sickle cell disease should not do it at all. If you are unsure, ask your own doctor before you book, not us.
Weather. Flights are cancelled or turned back regularly and that decision belongs to the pilot alone. If the Kala Patthar landing cannot be made safely, the flight will usually still run to Everest View Hotel and you are partially refunded. If nothing flies, you are refunded in full or moved to the next day.
What you do not get. You do not land at Everest Base Camp itself. Passenger landings on the glacier moraine are not permitted.
Your team
Led by a licensed guide
Every route is led by a government-licensed guide from our team. Licences are on record with us before departure, and you'll meet your guide once your trip is confirmed.
Guide language(s): English, Nepali
Group-size pricing
Walk together, pay less
Every trip is private, so the guide, permits and transfers cost the same however many walk. Sharing them is why the per-person price falls: arithmetic, not a sale.
| Group size | per person | You save each |
|---|---|---|
| 1 trekker | $3,900.00 | base rate |
| 2 trekkers | $1,995.00 | $1,905.00 |
| 3 to 5 trekkers | $1,395.00 | $2,505.00 |
Per person, including permits, park fees and taxes. Nothing is added at checkout.
Weather
What to expect, month by month
- Autumn (Sep–Nov)The most reliable trekking season: clear air, stable weather and cold nights, right after the monsoon clears.
- Spring (Mar–May)Warmer than autumn, with rhododendron forests in flower and slightly hazier mountain views as the season goes on.
- Winter (Dec–Feb)Cold and quiet, with the clearest skies of the year at lower altitude. High passes and very high routes are best avoided.
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What trekkers say
Why book with us
