Flight options to Paphlu

[mikeyeti]

Hi there,

I want to fly to Paphlu in October (from KTM).

Does anyone have information re. the options I have? What I found are 3 weekly flights with Yeti Airlines, Mon, Wed and Fri.

Are other airlines offering that service, too?

cheers,
Mike

[Lars]

All I can tell you is that I have not seen many flights, if indeed any at all,
around Phaplu. I have trekked past it five times, in a 14-year period, 1989 - 2003.

[Petrus]

3 weeks ago we hiked down to Shivalaya with two young Gurungs who were supposed to fly from Paphlu to KTM but there were no enough planes. They said this is fairly common, there are no tourists on Paphlu flight (thus no 3x priced tickets) so those flights are the first to be dropped.

A funny (?) thing was that these youngesh men originally from Gorkha were about 3 hours slower than us (50 & 54 year old westeners) each day. 10 years of IT work in Kathmandu takes its toll...

[yakshaver]

I agree Lars, Petrus...

Phaphlu is perhaps even worse than trying to fly to, than say Hongde in the Annapurnas. I would be reluctant to plan a trek around that...

Any particular reason to fly there?

[mtncanyon]

Namaste. I reccomend flying to Phaplu if you cant start from Jiri.Its not hard to do during the main trekking season. Flying out from Phaplu may be tougher. I dont think many tourists do that. I did it last October and absolutely loved trekking from there. I was sad when I met up with the main crowds from Lukla but then the views kicked in. Your flying into the middle of the country without the crowds, noise and dirt of Lukla. I bactracked one day to Junbesi on a nice trail following a river and visited a local monastery http://www.flickr.com/photos/8482199@N07/3079365016/in/set-72157609271568849/
which was great. The next day I took the trail proper towards Lukla. There are scheduled flights. I flew with Yeti. I ended up on a charter flight with other tourists on Tuesday . Just because you dont see a flight on a particular day doesnt mean you cant fly there on that day. Ask the airline. from Phaplu you can head towards Junbesi or towards Lukla via Ringmo and the trashindo la. The landing at Phaplu is an experience in itself, You head right towards a mountain, make a steep turn just above the trees then land on a dirt runway stip. You stop when the plane makes a sharp turn to break. Soon after I landed I walked in what I thought was the right direction, found a teahouse and made friends with some locals.It was the start of an incredible trekking experience. There was another airling flying there that dat but Im not sure which one, Maybe Royal Air Nepal? Cheers. Avsfan

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8482199@N07/3059847775/in/set-72157609271568849/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8482199@N07/3060685902/sizes/l/in/set-72157609271568849/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8482199@N07/3060685144/in/set-72157609271568849/ Phaplu welcoming committee


http://www.flickr.com/photos/8482199@N07/3060684784/in/set-72157609271568849/

[cyclingpaul]

Hi trekkers and guides,

Has anyone recently flown into Phaplu airstrip? Do regular flights stll go there? Any information gratefully received as I am thinking of trekking into Khumbu from there next year ( December ).
I have already walked in from Jiri and I fancied something different and Phaplu works very well in terms of timings.
Thanks
Paul

[cyclingpaul]

Flights are Monday, Wednesday and Friday with Tara Air!

[yakshaver]

Flights are Monday, Wednesday and Friday with Tara Air!

Is there a website for this? Where did you get the info from?

[webmaster]

Schedule is here:

http://www.taraair.com/page.php?page_id=21

[cyclingpaul]

Yes YS I confirmed via airline directly. They seem to be a subsidiary of Yeti Air, although I am not sure why they use a separate airline/brand for this route. It's a nice walk into Junbesi or Ringmo from Paphlu so it seems to me to be a nice way to get into Khumbu.

Paul

[yakshaver]

Yes YS I confirmed via airline directly. They seem to be a subsidiary of Yeti Air, although I am not sure why they use a separate airline/brand for this route. It's a nice walk into Junbesi or Ringmo from Paphlu so it seems to me to be a nice way to get into Khumbu.

Paul

Kool, thanks Paul. So how many days from Paphlu to Lukla: 3-4?

[Petrus]

Kool, thanks Paul. So how many days from Paphlu to Lukla: 3-4?

I would say 3 is "normal" minimum: Nuntala, Bubsa, Lukla.

And of course it is not necessary to make the Lukla climb and detour (extra 2-3 hours) on the way to Namche unless you are just dying from curiosity to see the infamous airstrip...

[yakshaver]

I would say 3 is "normal" minimum: Nuntala, Bubsa, Lukla.

And of course it is not necessary to make the Lukla climb and detour (extra 2-3 hours) on the way to Namche unless you are just dying from curiosity to see the infamous airstrip...

Yes that is right, I remember that. You bypass Lukla.