Manaslu Base Camp to Kathmandu Helicopter Flight

The Manaslu Base Camp to Kathmandu helicopter flight is the fastest possible way out of the Manaslu region, a one-way transfer that replaces days of trekking and road travel with a single scenic hour in the air. The helicopter lifts off from the glacial plateau of Manaslu Base Camp at 4,800 metres and climbs south over the route every trekker and climber knows well, following the Budhi Gandaki valley past Samagaun, the middle hills of Gorkha, and the Trishuli before setting down at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. Total airborne time is normally around 60 to 75 minutes, and with camp-side pickup and the drop-off in the capital, most travellers are back in front of a hot shower and a real bed within three hours. As every flight is influenced by the weather, the exact duration may vary depending on visibility, wind, air traffic, and the flight route assigned on the day of departure.

The Manaslu to Kathmandu helicopter flight exists because coming back out of the region on foot is a commitment in itself. Descending from the base camp to Machhakhola and driving to Kathmandu takes trekkers four to five more days, while expedition teams who have just spent weeks at 4,800 metres and above rarely want to walk another kilometre. A helicopter removes all of that. You wake at the foot of Manaslu beside the expedition tents, and by lunchtime you are resting in the capital. For rescued or evacuated travellers, injured members, and those on fixed international itineraries, the flight is quite simply the difference between making the connection and missing it.

We operate the return flight from Manaslu Base Camp to Kathmandu with the same care and safety standards as every Mountain Helicopters Nepal flight, from the pick-up briefing at the camp to the final landing. We coordinate closely with the expedition and trek operators already at the base camp, so the helicopter arrives on schedule and the departure runs smoothly. Outbound, our Kathmandu to Manaslu service carries expedition teams in the same spirit, making the Mountain Helicopters Nepal flight the complete two-way link between the capital and the eighth-highest mountain on Earth.