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offer helicopter rides over Kilauea. Depending on the package you choose, your plans can include a flight above the volcano, a stop on the volcano, or an extended excursion that takes you over black sand beaches, cascading waterfalls, and the lush rainforests of the Hamakua Coast. No matter which option you choose, you learn a lot about the history and the culture of the Hawaiian Islands. When booking, be sure to ask about the type of helicopter, the size of the windows, and how many people can sit near the windows. The tour routes and sights visited are always dependent upon where eruptions are occurring and the weather conditions. If you’re staying on one of the other Hawaiian Islands, check at your lodge’s front desk or with the concierge to see if there’s a package that includes a flight to the Big Island and a helicopter tour.

The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park website has a section that describes where the eruptions are currently occurring. Stop at the visitor center for information about ranger programs, hike and bike trails, and areas it’s safe to go the day you’re visiting. —LF

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (www.nps.gov/havo).

Tours: Blue Hawaiian Helicopters ( 800/786-2583 or 808/971-1107; www.bluehawaiian.com). Paradise Helicopters ( 866/876-7422 or 808/969-7392; www.paradisecopters.com).

When to Go: Year-round.

Kona Airport (96 miles/155km).

$$ The Inn at Volcano, 19-4178 Wright Rd. ( 800/937-7786 or 808/967-7786; www.volcano-hawaii.com). $–$$ Kilauea Lodge & Restaurant, 1 block off Hwy. 11 on Old Volcano Rd. ( 808/967-7366;www.kilauealodge.com).

8

Mount Everest Helicopter Tours

Buzzing the Roof of the World

Everest & Annapurna Mountain Ranges, Nepal

“It’s like seeing the world through 3-D glasses,” is how one person described flying in the mountain range around Mount Everest in a helicopter. The speaker, on a helicopter excursion arranged by Cox & Kings, explained that right after touring the Buddhist monastery in Tengboche, which sits atop a hill in the Everest region, they took off and the ground dropped away. The valley floor was suddenly a thousand feet or so below and the jagged slopes of Mount Everest, and the other Himalayan mountains, loomed larger than life through the helicopter’s windows. There’s no comparison to the feeling you get seeing a sight like this. And there’s only one way to do it.

Airplane flights through the region are available, but the fixed wing planes can fly only alongside the range. Helicopters can weave among the mountains, ensuring both panoramic and close-up views of the Himalayan ranges. Cox & Kings, which specializes in private travel arrangements to a wide range of places including Nepal, India, Asia, Africa, and Latin America, offers this 3-hour signature event, Mt. Everest: Roof of the World. The flight also includes a stop in Lukla, in the Khumbu region, the starting point for many visitors to the Himalayas near Mount Everest—a prime spot to photograph the surrounding mountains. A guide who knows these mountains well comes along to provide additional insight into the culture and geography of the region.

Himalayan Heliski Guides also offers sightseeing trips in the Everest and Annapurna regions of Nepal. Hikers should check into the company’s heli-trekking trips, on which clients are flown to scenic spots in the Everest region where they can hike for a few hours before being picked up afterward. This company, which uses Russian and Nepalese pilots that have major flying time hours in the Himalayas, is also offering a “See all the Himalaya in a week” program, where guests will be flown to various regions to see all the 8,000m (26,240-ft.) peaks and other regions in Nepal. —LF

Tours: Cox & Kings ( 800/999/1758;www.coxandkingsusa.com). Himalayan Heliski Guides ( 33/9-71-39-03-59;www.heliskinepal.com).

When to Go: Late fall to spring. Spring is climbing season.

Kathmandu.

$$ Kantipur Temple House, Chusyabahal, Jyatha Tol, Thamel, Kathmandu ( 977/1/425-0129;www.kantipurtemplehouse.com). $$ Hotel Courtyard, 67/27, Z-St., Thamel, Kathmandu ( 977/1/470-0648;www.hotelcourtyard.com).