Lowest price here10 min
10 minKatherine Gorge Helicopter Scenic Flight
★ 4.8 · 6 reviews
- 10 minutes, Ten minutes over the first three gorges
- Small group
- Cheapest here
- Free cancellation
$132$792.00 / hour
Check availability→ Helicopter flights
Katherine helicopter tours: four flights, ten to a hundred minutes
Katherine helicopter tours come down to four bookable flights, and they are further apart than they look. The shortest is 10 minutes and the longest 100; the fares run from $132 to $494; two of the four land somewhere, two do not. All four lift off from inside Nitmiluk National Park rather than from Darwin, which is the single fact that decides whether they fit your day at all. This page sets the four side by side, using only what each listing states about itself.
Quick answer
The short answer. There are four Katherine helicopter tours on this site. The cheapest is $132 for 10 minutes over the first three gorges, and it is also the lowest fare of any listing here, with 6 reviews at 4.8. The longest is $473 for 100 minutes with a landing at a rock art site, and it carries one review. Between them sit $305 for 40 minutes and $494 for 70. Every one of the four departs from within the park, so you need to be at Katherine already.
The four Katherine helicopter tours at a glance
- Flights bookable here
- 4 of 13 listingsthe other 9 are boats, drives and overland trips
- Shortest flight
- 10 minutesat $132
- Longest flight
- 100 minutesat $473
- Lowest fare
- $132the lowest on the whole site
- Highest fare
- $49470 minutes, not the longest flight
- Cheapest by the minute
- $4.73the 100 minute flight
- Most expensive by the minute
- $13.20the 10 minute flight
- Flights that state a landing
- 2 of 4a rock art site and a sunset location
- Gorges named
- 3 or 13one flight names the first three, one names all thirteen
- Reviews across all four
- 13 reviews6, 4, 2 and 1
- Where they depart from
- Inside the parknone of the four starts in Darwin
- All four flights together
- $1404220 minutes of flying
Where they start
The one thing to settle before booking any flight here
All four lift off inside the park. Eight listings start in Darwin; none of those eight is a helicopter.
This is the detail that catches people out, so it comes first. All four Katherine helicopter tours depart from within Nitmiluk National Park. Two of the descriptions say so in those words. None of the four collects you from Darwin, and none of them states a meeting point, a check-in time or a transfer, because no description mentions any of that.
Of the thirteen listings on this site, five start at Katherine and eight start in Darwin. The four flights are four of the five that start at Katherine. So if you are sitting in Darwin with a free day, a flight is not something you can simply add to it: the day trips that run out of Darwin and back take 9 to 14 hours on their own.
There is one listing that does fly out of Darwin, at $1,102 for 9 hours, and it is worth being precise about it. Its description states a scenic flight from Darwin and a boat in the gorge. It does not say helicopter anywhere, so it is not counted among the Katherine helicopter tours on this page.
Point by point
What each of the four flights says about itself
Six things separate these flights, and every one of them comes from the listing’s own description. Where a description is silent, this page is silent: nothing below states a minimum age, a weight limit, how many seats there are, whether you can open a window for photographs, or a time of year, because not one of the four says a word about any of it.
- Length — 10, 40, 70 and 100 minutes, with no overlap
The four Katherine helicopter tours are spaced far apart in time. $132 buys 10 minutes, $305 buys 40, $494 buys 70 and $473 buys 100. There is nothing between them, so the choice is genuinely four options rather than a sliding scale.
- How much of the gorge system — the first three, or all thirteen
The $132 flight states the first three gorges, and names Jedda’s Rock, Butterfly Gorge and Lilypond. The $305 flight states the full 13 gorge system. The other two describe where they go rather than how many gorges they cross: one names Katherine Gorge and Leliyn Falls, the other says it flies deep into the gorge.
- Landings — two of the four state one, and they land at different things
The $473 flight lands at what its description calls a hidden Aboriginal rock art site, with five ancient rock faces and the pilot as your guide. The $305 flight lands at sunset at a location its description calls secluded and unreachable by road or walking track. The $494 listing mentions a remote landing in its title, but its description does not repeat it.
- Leliyn Falls — named by one flight only
Only the $494 flight names Leliyn Falls, alongside Katherine Gorge, and calls them two of the Top End’s most remarkable features. If the waterfall is what you want from the air, that is the one listing that puts it in writing.
- What the titles promise and the descriptions do not
Two listings carry something in the title that the description never mentions: drinks on the $305 flight, and a remote landing on the $494 flight. A title is written to sell; a description is where the operator sets out what you get. Where the two differ, this page follows the description.
- Evidence — thin on all four, and thinnest where the fare is highest
The 13 reviews behind these four flights are not many: 6 on the $132 flight at 4.8, 4 on the $494 flight, 2 on the $305 flight and 1 on the $473 flight. Three of the four display a score of 5, and those scores stand on 4, 2 and 1 review respectively. Read them as what they are.
Every trip, current fare
Every listing here, so the flights can be placed against the rest
All thirteen, with cost per hour worked out from the stated length. The four flights sit at the top of that column by a long way, which is what a short flight always does: you are buying minutes, not a day.
| Tour | Length | Price | What is included | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Katherine Gorge & Edith Falls Full-Day Tour from DarwinThe most reviewed trip on this page: 283 | 14 h | $241 | A two-hour gorge cruise and Edith Falls, from Darwin | $17.21 | 4.5 · 283 |
| Darwin: Nitmiluk Edith Falls Tour & Katherine Gorge CruiseTwo gorges by boat, 13.5 hours | 13.5 h | $254 | A two-gorge cruise with Edith Falls | $18.81 | 4.4 · 74 |
| Darwin: Katherine Two Gorge Cruise Edith Falls Full Day TourThe same two gorges, a different operator day | 13.5 h | $222 | Two gorges and Edith Falls in one day | $16.44 | 4.7 · 47 |
| Darwin: Katherine Gorge, Hot Springs, Nitmiluk National ParkThermal pools and the national park | 13 h | $418 | Katherine Hot Springs and the national park | $32.15 | 5 · 3 |
| Katherine Gorge Helicopter Scenic FlightThe lowest fare on this page | 10 min | $132 | Ten minutes over the first three gorges | $792.00 | 4.8 · 6 |
| Nitmiluk Gorge Helicopter Sunset Tour with DrinksLands inside the park at sunset | 40 min | $305 | All thirteen gorges, landing at sunset | $457.50 | 5 · 2 |
| Katherine Gorge Heli Flight and Rock Art TourLands at a rock art site, as the listing states | 100 min | $473 | A flight and a landing at a rock art site | $283.80 | 5 · 1 |
| Katherine Gorge 70 Min Helicopter Tour with remote landingSeventy minutes, the longest flight here | 70 min | $494 | Seventy minutes over the gorge and Leliyn Falls | $423.43 | 5 · 4 |
| From Darwin: Katherine Gorge Scenic Flight and Cruise TourA flight from Darwin and a boat in the gorge | 9 h | $1,102 | A scenic flight from Darwin and a gorge cruise | $122.44 | 5 · 1 |
| 4-Day Kakadu, Katherine & Litchfield Camping TourFour days, camping, three parks | 4 days | $1,042 | Four days through Kakadu, Katherine and Litchfield | $10.85 | 4.9 · 9 |
| Darwin: 5-Day Kakadu, Katherine & Litchfield 4WD AdventureFive days by 4WD, the longest trip here | 5 days | $1,170 | Five days by 4WD, camping in the Top End | $9.75 | 4.7 · 27 |
| Litchfield, Kakadu, Arnhem Land & Katherine TourFive days, Arnhem Land named in the listing | 5 days | $1,391 | Five days including Arnhem Land | $11.59 | 4.7 · 3 |
| Darwin: 4-Day Kakadu Katherine & Arnhem Land Comfort TourFour days, the highest fare on this page | 4 days | $1,611 | Four days in comfort, with an Aboriginal guide | $16.78 | 4.9 · 26 |
Book direct
The four flights, cheapest first
These four are the Katherine helicopter tours bookable here. Fares, lengths and review counts are read off the live listings; the review counts are small enough that they are printed on every card rather than hidden behind a score.
Lands inside the park at sunset40 min
40 minNitmiluk Gorge Helicopter Sunset Tour with Drinks
★ 5 · 2 reviews
- 40 minutes, All thirteen gorges, landing at sunset
- Small group
- Lands inside the park at sunset
- Free cancellation
$305$457.50 / hour
Check availability→ 
Seventy minutes, the longest flight here70 min
70 minKatherine Gorge 70 Min Helicopter Tour with remote landing
★ 5 · 4 reviews
- 70 minutes, Seventy minutes over the gorge and Leliyn Falls
- Small group
- Seventy minutes, the longest flight here
- Free cancellation
$494$423.43 / hour
Check availability→ 
Lands at a rock art site, as the listing states100 min
100 minKatherine Gorge Heli Flight and Rock Art Tour
★ 5 · 1 review
- 100 minutes, A flight and a landing at a rock art site
- Small group
- Lands at a rock art site, as the listing states
- Free cancellation
$473$283.80 / hour
Check availability→ Prefer to be on the water — what a day from Darwin covers, and what it costs?
The day trips→By the minute
Why the cheapest flight is the most expensive one here
The 10 minute flight is the cheapest ticket and the most expensive minute: $13.20 against $4.73.
Fares alone put these four in one order, and the clock puts them in almost the reverse order. It is worth seeing both before you choose among the Katherine helicopter tours.
By fare: $132, then $305, then $473, then $494. Note that the highest fare is not the longest flight: 70 minutes costs more than 100.
By the minute: the 100 minute flight works out at $4.73 a minute, the 70 minute flight at $7.06, the 40 minute flight at $7.63 and the 10 minute flight at $13.20. The cheapest ticket on the site is the most expensive minute on the site, by roughly three times.
Neither column tells you which flight is better. They tell you what you are buying. $132 is a short look at the first three gorges at the lowest price anyone here asks for anything; $473 is most of two hours with the aircraft on the ground in the middle of it.
The two landings
What it means when a flight puts the aircraft on the ground
Two flights land, two do not, and neither description states how long you are on the ground.
Of the four Katherine helicopter tours, two state a landing, and the landing is most of what you are paying the difference for. Both descriptions are specific, and neither says how long you spend out of the aircraft, so this page does not say either.
$473, 100 minutes, 1 review. The description says it flies deep into Nitmiluk Gorge, which it also calls Katherine Gorge, and lands at a hidden Aboriginal rock art site. It names five ancient rock faces and says the pilot guides you around them. That is the whole of what is stated about the site, and this page adds nothing to it.
$305, 40 minutes, 2 reviews. The description says it flies the full 13 gorge system and lands at sunset, deep inside the park, at a place it calls secluded and unreachable by road or walking track. It is the only listing on this site that names a time of day.
The other two flights are flights. $132 and $494 describe what you fly over, and neither description promises that you get out.
Before you pay
Four things worth knowing about Katherine helicopter tours
Four things are worth settling before you pay for one of the Katherine helicopter tours, and each of them has caught somebody out.
The lowest fare on the site is a flight, not a day. $132 is the cheapest thing bookable here, and it buys 10 minutes in the air. The cheapest full day out of Darwin is $222 and runs 13.5 hours. If you saw the lower number first, these are not two versions of the same thing.
A score of 5 on one review is a score on one review. Three of the four flights display 5, standing on 4, 2 and 1 review. The fourth displays 4.8 on 6. Across all four the weighted figure is 4.9, and it rests on 13 reviews in total — against 486 across the whole site, 283 of which belong to a single day trip.
Nitmiluk and Katherine Gorge are one place. Nitmiluk is the name of the national park in the language of the Jawoyn people, and the gorge sits inside it. One of these four descriptions writes both names together. A flight that uses one name is not covering different ground from a flight that uses the other.
Kakadu, Litchfield and Arnhem Land are not here. No flight on this site names any of them. Those places appear only on the overland trips of 4 and 5 days, which start in Darwin. A flight over Nitmiluk does not reach them.
Common questions
Katherine helicopter tours: common questions
How many Katherine helicopter tours can I book here?
Four. They run 10, 40, 70 and 100 minutes, at $132, $305, $494 and $473. Together they hold 13 reviews, so the evidence behind them is thin and the counts are shown next to every score on this page.
Do any of the flights leave from Darwin?
No. All four depart from within Nitmiluk National Park, and two of the descriptions state that in those words. One listing does fly out of Darwin, at $1,102, but its description calls it a scenic flight and never says helicopter.
Which flight is the cheapest?
$132 for 10 minutes, which is also the lowest fare of any listing on this site. It states the first three gorges and names Jedda’s Rock, Butterfly Gorge and Lilypond. It carries 6 reviews at 4.8, the most of the four.
Which flight gives the most flying time for the money?
$473 at 100 minutes, which works out at $4.73 a minute against $13.20 a minute on the 10 minute flight. It stands on one review, so the arithmetic is firmer than the evidence.
Can I land during the flight?
Two of the four state a landing. $473 lands at a rock art site with five rock faces; $305 lands at sunset at a place its description calls unreachable by road or walking track. The other two describe flying only. How long you spend on the ground is not stated anywhere.
Do I see the whole gorge system?
One flight says so: $305 states the full 13 gorge system in 40 minutes. $132 states the first three gorges. The remaining two describe their route rather than counting gorges, so no number can honestly be given for them.
Is there a minimum age or a weight limit?
Nothing in any of the four descriptions mentions age, weight, the number of seats, or rules about cameras. That means this page cannot answer it, not that no limits exist. It is the kind of thing worth checking with the operator before you pay.
Is a flight worth it on top of a boat trip?
That depends on what you want to see, and the data only goes so far. From the water you are inside the gorge looking up; from the air you see the shape of it. The two cheapest ways to do each are $132 and a day from Darwin at $222, and they are not alternatives to one another.
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