Safety
Experienced High-Altitude Pilots
Quick Facts
Duration
Approximately 1.5 to 2 hours round trip (including ground time at Makalu Base Camp)
Max Altitude Reached
Makalu Base Camp, 4,870 metres / 15,978 feet
Finest Season
Spring (March – May), Autumn (September – November)
No of Pax
4 or 5 passengers
Baggage
400 kg total (passenger weight + baggage weight per helicopter)
Highlights
A short, high-altitude helicopter tour from Lukla straight into the Makalu-Barun wilderness.
Aerial views of the Barun Valley, glaciers, snowfields and the Makalu massif.
Ideal for trekkers already in the Khumbu who want to see Makalu without a separate trip from Kathmandu.
Private and shared flights, subject to availability.
Landing or flyover based on the approved itinerary and flight conditions.
Clear pricing, baggage limits and weather terms provided before booking.
About This Flight
Lukla to Makalu High Camp Helicopter Tour
The Lukla to Makalu High Camp Helicopter Tour gives trekkers and travelers already in the Khumbu a fast way to reach one of Nepal's most remote mountain regions without flying back to Kathmandu first. Departing from Tenzing-Hillary Airport, the helicopter climbs east out of the Khumbu, crossing a string of high ridges and side valleys that separate the Everest region from the Barun watershed, before descending into the dramatic glacial terrain around Mount Makalu. The tour's centerpiece is an aerial pass through the Makalu High Camp area, framed by the south face of the mountain and the icefields feeding the Barun Glacier.
Because the route crosses several high passes at altitude, the flight is flown as a single non-stop sector between Lukla and Makalu High Camp under normal conditions. Payload is calculated for the full sector in advance, and the crew may adjust passenger or baggage load, or split a group across rotations, through charter if density altitude or weather on the day reduces available lift.
Mountain Helicopters Nepal operates this tour as a private charter for acclimatized trekkers, expedition members, photographers and researchers who want to see the Makalu-Barun region up close. For anyone finishing an Everest Base Camp trek or already staged in Lukla, it's a way to add a second Himalayan giant to the trip without the two-day drive or extra Kathmandu rotation that a Makalu tour normally requires.
