Gokyo
4,790 m
Lukla
2,845 m
20 mins
8:00 AM
$450
per seat
$1,400
aircraft
CAAN licensed
Free weather reschedule
Rescue capable
Namche to Lukla helicopter flight
Namche Bazaar
3,440 m
Lukla
2,845 m
- Flight time
- 10 mins
- Seats
- 5
- Baggage
- 15 kg
- From
- $200
Flight overview
Flying Namche to Lukla helicopter flight
| Route | Departs | Seats | Flight time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Namche to Lukla helicopter flight | 8:00 AM | 5 | 10 mins |
Ten minutes in the air, and the cheapest helicopter seat in the Everest region. Namche to Lukla replaces a full day of walking downhill through the Dudh Kosi gorge, including the long climb out at the end that nobody mentions in the trip notes.
The aircraft drops off the Syangboche shoulder, follows the gorge south, and puts down at Lukla before the coffee in Namche has gone cold. You lose six hundred metres, which is not dramatic, but the day you save is.
Why it is cheap
Because it is a shuttle. Aircraft move between Lukla and Namche constantly through the season carrying freight, crew and passengers, and a seat on a leg the machine is already flying costs a fraction of one that requires a dedicated transit.
Who takes it
Trekkers on the last day with a morning flight out of Lukla to catch. People whose knees have stopped enjoying descents. Groups running a day behind. And a reasonable number who simply looked at the price, looked at the trail, and made a decision.
Connecting to Kathmandu
Take this leg early and connect onto a Lukla to Kathmandu departure the same morning. Allow an hour between the two. Booked that way, the pair costs less than the direct Namche to Kathmandu fare.
- From
- Namche Bazaar
- To
- Lukla
- Aircraft
- AS350 B3e / H125
- Passenger insurance
- Included
- Flight rules
- Visual, daylight only
Pilot advisory
Ten minutes of descending flight between two pads the aircraft works between all day. This is one of the most weather-tolerant legs we sell and frequently operates on mornings when the longer transits do not.
Pricing
What this flight costs, and what it does not include
Both figures are the price we quote on WhatsApp. A shared seat puts you on a scheduled departure with other travellers. A private charter is the whole aircraft on your schedule.
Included
- Confirmed seat or aircraft on the stated departure
- All government taxes on the charter
- Passenger liability insurance
- Pilot and crew
- Free rescheduling if the flight is held for weather
Not included
- Personal travel and medical insurance
- Meals, accommodation and ground transport
- National park permits and TIMS cards
- Excess baggage above the stated allowance
- Anything arising from a delay outside our control
We publish how these prices are set and when they move. Read the price transparency policy.
Operators
CAAN licensed operators
We charter aircraft only from operators that hold a current air operator certificate from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. Each one below is reviewed by us before we put passengers on their aircraft.
Air Dynasty Heli Services
Manang Air
Simrik Air
Mountain Helicopters
Altitude Air
Heli Everest
Kailash Helicopter Services
Prabhu Helicopter
Upcoming departures
The next flights on this route
All departures are subject to visual flight rules and weather. Seat counts are confirmed with operators each morning.
Landing site
Where you land at Lukla
- Helipad
- Tenzing-Hillary Airport helipad
- Area
- Khumbu, Everest region
- Altitude
- 2,845 m
- Coordinates
- 27.68690, 86.72970
The airstrip is 527 metres long, slopes uphill at around twelve degrees, and ends in a rock face. Helicopters use the pad adjacent to the apron rather than the runway itself. Stay behind the marked line until the rotor has stopped and approach only from the front, where the crew can see you.
Safety
What you need to know before you board
A short hop, but the same ground rules apply at both ends. Behind the line until the rotor stops, approach from the front, nothing loose.
The Namche pad is above the town on the Syangboche shoulder and the walk up is steep. Allow twenty minutes from the lodges.
Standard fifteen kilo baggage allowance. On a private charter the whole aircraft is yours and the limit becomes total weight, which suits groups coming off a trek with duffels.
Questions
What travellers ask about this route
For a shared seat, yes. It is ten minutes of flying between two pads the aircraft is already shuttling between, so the cost is genuinely low. It is the cheapest helicopter ticket in the Everest region.
A full day. Namche to Lukla on foot is a long descent through the Dudh Kosi gorge with a sting in the tail at the end.
Often, yes. We need enough notice to confirm an aircraft is running, so message us the evening before if you can. In peak October, give us a day.
If your knees are fine and you have a spare day, walk it, it is a beautiful descent. If you are limping, out of days, or trying to make a morning flight out of Lukla, this is the best two hundred dollars on the mountain.
On a private charter, yes, within the weight limit. On a shared seat, each seat is sold individually, so it depends what is left.
Hold a seat
Request this flight
No payment now. Tell us the date and the group, and we will come back with a confirmed aircraft, a confirmed price and a deposit link.
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