Why a Mount Everest Sightseeing Flight in Nepal Is a Must-Do Adventure

There are 2 main types of tourists in Nepal: those who go on treks in the Himalayas and those who limit themselves to less strenuous activities.

If you are the latter type, you can still see the world’s highest mountains up close and for a fraction of the cost of trekking at high altitudes. The solution is a sightseeing flight.

On a recent visit to Nepal, I had just a few days to spend there, so I did not have time for a proper trek — and, in winter, that trek would not have been especially enjoyable. But my 4 days in Kathmandu gave me enough time to go on a panoramic flight close to the Himalayas. It was an experience for the ages and one that I highly recommend to anyone visiting Nepal.

Here’s how I did it and how you can book and take a Mount Everest sightseeing flight yourself.

Booking an Everest Sightseeing Flight

Buddha Air and Yeti Airlines both operate sightseeing flights from Kathmandu. I chose Buddha Air, the biggest domestic carrier in Nepal, because it had both a better safety record and a larger fleet. Yeti Airlines offered a similar price and the same type of airplane: European-made ATR turboprops whose wings are mounted above the fuselage. This feature gives every window seat an unobstructed view.

The booking engine on the Buddha Air site listed 5 sightseeing flights departing on the same day at the same time, 8 a.m. on January 19, 2025. I booked the first one, flight U4 100, imagining that the other 4 were either a glitch or mislabeled later departures. I wanted early morning for the best possible light.

The 4 extra flights listed turned out to be a glitch after all. As I suspected, when I showed up at the airport, there were no other mountain flights — as the airline calls them — departing that day.

During booking, a screen appeared asking me whether I wanted to open an account with the airline. 

That surprised me: Buddha Air has a loyalty program?

I immediately Googled and I learned that not only did a tiny airline with just 18 turboprops have a points program with quite a few partner businesses in its home nation, but it also had million-milers. One of them, at least: a Nepali gentleman named Lalit KC, whose mileage feat was so remarkable that the airline devoted a whole page to him on its site. He had been, the page said, on 3,312 flights since January 2003!

It would take anyone quite a few hops around the Himalayas to be in the same league, but I opened an account all the same. Who knows when a handful of Buddha Air miles might come in handy?

The joining screen appeared to be unusual, but I figured that was because passenger accounts and job-seeker accounts on Buddha Air were the same.  

The only option for the flight was a refundable coach fare in U.S. dollars. I paid the $217.43 with my Chase Sapphire Reserve^®, which earns 3x points on airfare and provides travel insurance and protection in case of delays or cancellations.

Buddha Air emailed me a copy of the ticket, concluding a quick, easy online transaction.  

Getting to the Kathmandu Airport

Public transport isn’t an option I would advise for travel to and from Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM). Taxis are cheap and plentiful, and there are even apps that work like any other ride-sharing platform. The 2 biggest are inDrive and Pathao, but I couldn’t get them to work with a U.S. phone number. Taximandu did accept my U.S. number but didn’t have drivers available near me at 6 a.m. when I needed to leave for the 8 a.m. flight.

The front desk at Hotel Thrive — a beautiful oasis in the bustling neighborhood of Thamel — called me a taxi, which charged 1,000 rupees, about $7.

Sightseeing flights leave from the domestic terminal, where you enter after putting your bags through a metal detector, like at the international one.

Buddha Air check-in counters were easy to locate, with the airline’s institutional blue color standing out in the small terminal.

My boarding pass bore an MTN code, even though we were flying from KTM to KTM.

The flow from check-in to airplane seat was the same as for any domestic flight. The security area was almost as empty as the check-in hall.

After security, the departure area had 2 basic cafés with pastries and snacks. Buses waited in front of the gate; there are no jetways at Tribhuvan airport, since every flight boards via bus and stairs.

Our ATR 72, a 17-year-old bird, waited in the morning sun, covered in moisture after a cold night.

Only half of its 72 seats were occupied, by design. The airline only sold window seats.

Beware of rows 5 to 8 on Buddha Air’s ATR 72s because their windows are partially blocked by an engine and propeller. This was the view that greeted me at seat 5D. If this happens to you, do not despair: There is a way around the obstacle.

A zoom lens is your friend here: By zooming past the pesky propeller, you can circumvent blocked shots. I had with me a Nikon D7500 and 2 Nikon zoom lenses, a 16-85 millimeter and a 70-300 millimeter. The 16-85 proved perfect for takeoff and landing, and the longer 70-300 was great for getting close to the mountains during cruise.  

Buddha Air even had an inflight magazine, but I wasn’t going to spend much time looking at that — not while right outside the window were wonders I had been dreaming of since childhood.

Hot Tip:

Flights to the U.S. in business or first class can be relatively cheap departing from Kathmandu. If you’re paying with cash, not points, consider booking a one-way back to the U.S. from Nepal in a premium class. For example, returning from Kathmandu to New York City via Singapore cost me $1,800 in business class, an exceptional bargain in relative terms.

Flying Along the Himalayas

Shortly after takeoff, as we turned left after a northbound departure, the first of those wonders came into view: Himalchuli, the 18th-highest mountain in the world, far higher than anything in the Americas or any other continent except Asia. Here, it barely got a nod from passengers who were waiting just for Everest, the star of the show.

It wasn’t even on the map of the mountains that the flight attendant had distributed before takeoff. But, as a mountaineer and unabashed mountain-knowledge nerd, I had done my research beforehand. That said, the map was truly useful.

Before getting to see the mountains, though, we had to leave behind the Kathmandu Valley and its smog, among the worst on the planet, especially in winter.

Minutes later, as we flew eastbound after a 180-degree turn, the smog gave way to a far more romantic morning fog, dissipating under the sun’s warmth.  

At this point, passengers on the left side of the plane were getting their first look at what they had come for: the highest Himalayas, filing past to the north as we cruised at 21,000 feet.

Then, suddenly, it happened. I did not need to be told what I had glimpsed out of a window a couple rows ahead. There she was, the unmistakable shape I had seen so many times in books and pictures. Nepalis call her Sagarmatha, Goddess of the Sky; to Tibetans on her other side she is Chomolungma, Goddess Mother of the World; and to us on board she was Mount Everest.

Another left turn meant that it was our time to see the Himalayas up close, which is also why I’d recommend sitting on the right for an Everest-viewing flight. The right side is usually closer to the mountains during the part of the flight looking directly at Everest.

The Buddha Air map would have helped even a novice to recognize what we saw just after the turn: Everest, hulking behind the wall of 28,000-foot Lhotse, and on the right Makalu, the fifth-highest mountain on Earth.

The zoom lens made it easy to see past the propeller and close up on the 27,766-foot Makalu.

The flight lasted 48 minutes, and the brief time spent looking at Everest felt like an intense, almost religious experience.

But something disturbing stood out. The mountains all looked bare, dry, devoid of snow. And it wasn’t just me noticing.

“The Himalayas, typically blanketed in thick snow during winter, have experienced an unusual lack of snowfall this year,” Nepali guide Jayram Dahal said on his Facebook page. “The unusually warm winter has baffled everyone. Instead of the usual biting cold, the region has been experiencing temperatures more akin to summer.”

Nowhere was this more evident than by looking at Numbur (on the left below) and Khatang, southwest of Everest — 22,000-foot peaks connected by a long ridge over a steep face. It wasn’t always this barren.

Compare what I saw in January 2025 with this image shot from January 2011. The mountain was much snowier 14 years ago.

The landscape was just as strangely dry when looking at the other Himalayan giants that followed as we flew west. You can see 23,560-foot Melungtse, on the right below, and the sacred peak of 23,405-foot Gaurishankar, on the left, anchoring a view where browns and grays dominate over white.

Still, Gaurishankar — a mountain so fiendishly hard it was not climbed until 1979 — took the prize for the most beautiful peak seen on this flight.

As we began the descent back to Kathmandu, more giants came into view. Shishapangma, the 14th-highest mountain in the world, dominated the horizon.

And there was more still. Just before the last turn away from the mountains, 23,734-foot Langtang Lirung came into view.

The blanket of dust and fumes over Kathmandu brought back down quickly any lofty thoughts that may have lingered. After a little more than a half hour in the realm of the Himalayan gods, we were returning to earth.

Before disembarking, our flight attendant handed everyone on board a certificate, whose claim that we had just been on the “World’s Best Mountain Flight” did not feel at all overblown.

We had flown just 206 miles, but it felt much longer. And, speaking of which: What about those frequent-flyer miles with Buddha Air? Well, there’s the rub.

Buddha Air’s Royal Club Loyalty Program: Not What You’re Used To

I had assumed that by opening an account with Buddha Air I had joined its Royal Club loyalty program and would accrue miles. But I hadn’t. Having a simple account with Buddha Air does not imply joining its loyalty program.

When I didn’t see miles in my account on the airline’s site more than a week after the flight, I did some digging and found that to join the program, you have to fill out a membership form at a Buddha Air office or travel agency. And if you want to redeem your miles for flights, vacations, or gift vouchers, you have to fill out another form, available only at Buddha Air’s central office in Kathmandu.

Granted, not a lot of passengers taking a mountain flight are going to be repeat customers. I wasn’t among the target public for Royal Club. But going online would benefit the company: Nepal has a number of mobile phones equivalent to more than 100% of the population, and 50% of Nepalis use the Internet.

Shouldn’t the leading domestic airline — albeit in a developing nation where few fly — make it easier for people to become loyal customers?

Final Thoughts

The experience of an Everest sightseeing flight is a highlight for any traveler. Short of trekking under one’s own power to Everest base camp, this is as close as you can get to a breathtaking view of the highest mountain in the world.

For just $200, a hefty sum in Nepal but a relative pittance for what it gets you, I was awed beyond words by a sight I had long dreamed of. If you are visiting Nepal, go on a mountain flight without hesitation. You are guaranteed to remember it forever.