Flight to Lukla

Flight to Lukla Travel Tips

Eating Gluten Free in Manthali and Lukla

In Manthali where we were stuck waiting for a flight, we were treated to a home cooked meal of traditional Nepali food which was the best meal that we had. It was naturally gluten free which was good because little English was spoken at this home by the airport.

In Lukla, we had lunch after arriving at one of the world’s most dangerous airports. It was a limited menu and the beginning of our adventure with translating gluten free in Nepal on the hike.

Lukla Airport

Also known as the Gateway to Mount Everest. Or Tenzing-Hillary Airport.
Classified as one of the most dangerous airports to fly in and out of. Why you may ask; just a few reasons.
- It’s at an elevation of over 9,000 ft
- The runway is ONLY 1,700 ft long (less than 1/2 a mile).
- Surrounded by the world’s tallest mountain range with a sheer drop off at the end of the runway.
- Wind speed can switch in a minute.
On top of all that, it is also where the helicopters fly into for evacuating people off the mountain.
The airlines are continuously watching the weather and tracking wind changes. You will notice that you go from long breaks between flights to rushing people to get as many flights out during clear weather.
The good news is the flight only lasts about twenty minutes. So, sit back and enjoy the scenery of the surrounding Himalayas; it is very humbling.

Additional Notes

- It’s organized chaos!
- During high season all flights are now diverted through Manthali.
  - This is due to an increase in international flights in Kathmandu, which take priority over the flights to Lukla.
- Flights during dry season normally are not cancelled due to weather.
  - With the weather changing, guides are noticing flights are being cancelled towards the beginning of the dry season due to the monsoon season trickling into October.
    - Our flight was delayed until the next day. The previous day had a bunch of flight cancellations and they had to catch-up. This was October 16th.

What happens when flights are delayed?

Manthali to Lukla: Find a seat and enjoy the little town. They keep everyone in line of who takes off first. Manthali is a small town and can’t accommodate the influx of trekkers. If it gets flooded with too many people they can delay people in Kathmandu until it gets caught up.
Lukla to Manthali: This is the opposite. If your flight back is cancelled you get to stay in Lukla until there is space on a flight back to Manthali. You could be stuck there for a couple of days before you get a flight out. Lukla is a bigger town and can accommodate the influx of trekkers. Which is why they do it this way.
Alternatives: Not great. However, since delays are becoming more frequent they have started working on solutions. The current solution is an additional 8 hour hike from Lukla to another city (sorry forgot the name). Where you then have a 14 hour car ride back to Kathmandu. This is only recommended if you have been stranded in Lukla for 2 days.

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Asia, Nepal