Mountain flight offers a panoramic view of the Himalaya in a just one hour. Even those visitors who like the rigors of a trek still don’t miss the opportunity to “conquer” the mountains in one fell swoop. This one hour flight takes you the Eastern Himalayan Ranges of Nepal, some of the highest peaks in the world including Mt. Everest The flight is an altogether different feeling as one comes face to face with the worlds tallest and most enigmatic of Mountains.
As the aircraft takes off and heads
towards the east, you don't have to
wait too long to find out what's in
store for you. First to your far left,
you see Gosaithan, also called Shisha
Pangma, standing at the majestic height
of 8,013 m. Immediately to the right
of Gosaithan, there appears Dorje Lhakpa
(6,966 m), a mountain that looks like
the number 8 lying down and covered
with snow. To the right of Dorje Lakpa
is Phurbi-Chyachu, which looms over
the Kathmandu Valley .
As the plane glides along, the mountains
come closer and closer. Next on the
vision is Choba-Bhamare , the smallest
one of the lot at 5,933 m but singularly
stubborn as it has never been climbed.
Then appears the mountain that is not
only prominent in sight but also in
spirituality - Gauri-Shanker . Lord
Shiva (Shanker) and his consort Gauri
are said to protect this mountain, at
the proud height of (7,134m), and the
summit had a history of unsuccessful
attempts till 1979. Gauri-Shanker is
sharp and very conspicuous during the
mountain flight. As the plane moves
towards the land of the rising sun,
the eastern Himalaya, a succession of
glorious mountains follow. Melungtse
, a plateau-like mountain, stretches
up to 7,023 m. Chugimago at 6,297 m
is still a virgin, waiting to be climbed.
At 6,956 m, Numbur mountain resembles
a breast, the maternal source in the
sky providing pure milk to the Sherpas
of the Solukhumbu . Next is Karyolung
, an intensely white mountain that at
6,511 m gleams with the rising sun.
Cho-Oyu is the sixth highest mountain
in the world. Reaching a height of 8,201
m, it appears stunningly beautiful from
the aircraft.
Next on the menu is Gyachungkang, at
a majestic height of 7,952 m, considered
an extremely difficult climb. To the
right of Gyachungkang is Pumori (7,161
m). As you get closer to Everest, there's
Nuptse (7,855 m), which means West Peak
, signifying its direction from Everest.
Finally, there's Everest (8,848 m) itself,
known as Sagarmatha by the Nepalese
and Chomolungma by the Tibetans. Much
has already been written about Everest,
but to actually witness it face to face
during a mountain flight is something
else. Even while it looms there in front
of the eyes, it remains an enigma, this
highest spot on earth. The spectacular
mountain flights are offered by a number
of airlines.