Himalaya Helicopter Adventure 🇳🇵

I made it to the peaks of Annapurna! Well, a helicopter with me inside made it up there.

I had no intention of visiting the Himalayan mountain tops on this visit to Nepal. I was planning on leaving the trekking until another trip, possibly in the autumn or spring time, when the climate is more suitable for such activities. However, an opportunity came up that I couldn't say no to.

I was eating dinner at my hotel in Pokhara and got chatting to Alexander, another guest who was staying there. He told me that he'd booked a helicopter to take him into the mountains the next day and offered for me to come along for free.

How could I say no to that? To rent a helicopter for that kind of trip normally costs around $2,400 and he was offering me an opportunity to enjoy that experience at a 100% discount.

So I went to bed early, woke up at 5 a.m. the next morning and off we went to Pokhara Airport. It's always best to take these flights in the morning as that's when the clearest weather conditions are. It was extra important for Alex as his sole reason for taking the helicopter was to capture photos.

Alexander Maria Lohmann is an artist who combines photography with oil painting to produce stunning works of art. You can check out his work on his website and Instagram account:

https://www.alexandermarialohmann.com/
  / alexandermarialohmann  

Please some him some love as without him this video wouldn't have been made.

Unfortunately we were waiting around at the airport for hours, with the helicopter operator giving us a bunch of excuses for the delay. By the time we got up in the air, there were a bunch of thick clouds at the place we wanted to visit.

Still, we had a good fly around the peaks of the Annapurna mountain range as we waited for clearer weather to touch down at Mardi High Point. The views were incredible. I'd seen nothing like that in my life, up close.

When we touched down at Mardi base camp our helicopter immediately took off with other people in it. I figured that meant it would be a while until it was back to pick us up, and that I'd have plenty of time to explore.

I left Alex to take photos of Machapuchare, the holy mountain, while I had a wander through the village that has been set up to provide food and shelter to trekkers.

There's a bunch of guesthouses up there but I only found two trekkers, so I've no idea how the owners of these places are managing to make a living.

I had a nice cup of tea with a view of the beautiful Annapurna mountains at one of these "teahouses". They are called teahouses but are there to provide accommodation and food in addition to simple cups of tea. They can be found along all trekking routes in Nepal.

I asked to view the rooms and they were very simple. Just cabins made from thin wood with some beds stuck in them. Nothing else at all. No bathrooms, just a toilet in a shack outside.

After spending a bit of time talking to two trekkers I could hear Alex shouting. He wanted me to run to the helicopter. At first I assumed he was joking because it hadn't been that long since we arrived, but it turned out he was serious and they were close to leaving me behind.

Thankfully they waited for me but they weren't happy.

I wasn't long back in Pokhara airport when I was taking off again, this time in an Ultralight. The pilots recognised me while I was waiting for the helicopter ride and offered to give me a free flight when I returned from that trip.

The ultralights are tiny aircraft that almost look like toys. They didn't look like the safest things in the world but weather conditions were calm so I felt safe.

Up in the air, we basically toured the whole of Pokhara and its surroundings in 15 minutes. We flew over Sarangkot, over Phewa Lake and then past the Buddhist stupa and Shiva statue on the other side.

After bargaining with the airport taxi drivers I arrived back at my hotel at Pavilions The Farm for a well deserved swim and then went out to eat Dal Bhat at a local guesthouse / restaurant.

0:00 Pokhara Airport
3:23 Helicopter Hanger
10:50 Helicopter Ride
16:38 Mardi High Point
31:50 Return to Pokhara
37:13 Ultralight Flight
44:35 Indian Tourists
47:58 Bargaining for a Taxi
54:31 Local Restaurant

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