Pokhara to Tilicho Lake Helicopter Flight

The Tilicho Lake helicopter tour from Pokhara is a complete round-trip excursion to one of the highest lakes on Earth, offering the Annapurna region's most dramatic scenery in a single morning. The helicopter takes off from Pokhara, climbs north over the rolling hills and valleys of the Manang district, and sets down beside the turquoise waters of Tilicho Lake at 4,919 metres in roughly 40 to 60 minutes. You spend 15 to 30 minutes walking along the shore and absorbing the mountain amphitheatre before the return flight, with the entire tour finishing in about three to four 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 Pokhara to Tilicho Lake helicopter flight exists because the destination is extraordinarily hard to reach on foot. The full Tilicho Lake trek takes five to seven days, requiring crossings of high passes, stays in basic teahouses, and the famously demanding descent through the landslide-prone section above Tilicho Base Camp. A helicopter removes all of that: same-day round trip, no acclimatisation schedule to follow, no long-distance porter support. Because the lake rests in the Annapurna region, the average visitor who arrives in Pokhara can experience in one morning a journey that trekkers earn over many days.

We operate the Tilicho Lake helicopter tour from Pokhara with the same care and safety standards as every Mountain Helicopters Nepal flight, from the pre-flight briefing to the final landing. The ride itself is the reward: aerial views of Lake Phewa and Pokhara Valley, a crossing of the Annapurna foothills, and, on the high approach, unforgettable perspectives of the Annapurna range, Dhaulagiri, Machapuchare, and the far-off Manaslu massif. It is especially popular with travellers short on time, Hindu pilgrims for whom the lake is sacred, families, couples, senior visitors, and photographers.