For most people, flying a helicopter over the Himalayas is an extraordinary challenge. For Captain Priya Adhikari, it became a way to save lives.
Raised in Nepal with four sisters, Priya grew up in a society where educating daughters was not always considered a priority. But her mother refused to let social expectations decide her daughters’ futures. She pushed Priya and her sisters to pursue education and build lives of their own.
Priya studied Environmental Science and later completed an MBA. She initially worked as a cabin crew member, never imagining that she would one day sit in the pilot’s seat. Then, about eleven years ago, a helicopter joyride on a cold winter morning changed everything.
She decided she wanted to fly. Priya travelled to the Philippines for rigorous pilot training and eventually made aviation her career. In 2017, she became a full-time pilot, and at 31, became Nepal’s first female helicopter captain.
The journey wasn’t easy. In a male-dominated profession, she faced passengers questioning her ability simply because she was a woman. Even basic challenges, such as the lack of proper facilities for female pilots, reminded her that she was entering a world not built for women. But Priya kept flying.
Soon, she became one of Nepal’s most experienced high-altitude rescue pilots, flying into some of the world’s most dangerous terrain. Her missions have taken her to altitudes of around 6,200 metres, rescuing injured climbers and people trapped by disasters.
In one high-altitude rescue, when oxygen became dangerously low, Priya gave her emergency oxygen to the injured person she was rescuing and continued the mission. And during the devastating 2026 floods and landslides, she reportedly flew nearly 100 rescue missions in just six days, helping bring hundreds of stranded people to safety.
Priya Adhikari didn’t begin her journey as a pilot. She began as a daughter, a student and a cabin crew member who dared to imagine something different.
Today, when people are trapped in places where help seems impossible, they look to the sky and Priya flies in.
