The best flight add-on that one could purchase has to be a window seat at the front of the cabin (before the wings begin) for the flight from Delhi to Gangtok (Pakyong Airport). Which is what I did some years ago (in 2022).

My hope was that I would get to see some snow capped peaks here and there and probably get some cool shots. In stead to my pleasant surprise, I had snow peaks visible from my window almost throughout the two hour flight duration.

Almost as soon as we took off from Delhi, white ridges came into view on the horizon, which grew in size and density as we made our way towards Sikkim. So obviously, was ogling and clicking through the window throughout the flight.

After we landed a friend asked me if I was able to see the Everest during the flight.

Very confused, I asked: Everest is on the Nepal-China border, how would it be possible to view it from a plane flying within India?

She says: “Well, we were told so by our captain”

This sent my mind to a state of explosion, and my brain’s pattern recognition software into an overdrive. I went through my shots and cross referenced them with several online images. And then I found her… THE Mount Everest, aka Sagarmatha, aka Qomolangma, the highest point on the earth’s surface, and I had just, unknowingly, casually, clicked her from across a whole country a few hours prior.

When the shock and delight finally settled, a new even bigger realisation dawned on me. If I could see the Everest, on the clear day that it was, I probably saw every significant mountain in Nepal. And Nepal is indeed full of significant mountains, most importantly: eight of the fourteen eight-thousanders. And, as I was clicking away to glory during the flight, I knew I had caught ’em all!

The Everest complex itself includes four eight-thousanders: obviously Mount Everest (8,848m), Lhotse (8,516m), Makalu (8,485m), Cho Oyu (8188m); which make up the first, fourth, fifth and sixth highest peaks in the world respectively.

Earlier in the flight I had encountered the most dangerous of all peaks: Annapurna I (8,091m), and also Manaslu (8163m), which make up the tenth and eight highest peaks respectively.

And one random shot got hold of Dhaulagiri I (8167m) I believe, that makes the seventh highest.

Of all these peaks, probably the Kanchenjunga complex, which is the closest to Sikkim, might be the easiest to recognise. Can you spot the sleeping Buddha, with his head, nose, belly, feet and all?

It’s proximity to our destination provided us with the clearest, most glorious view. Kanchenjunga (8586m), the third highest.

There you have it, a spectacle of eight of the ten highest peaks in the world over a duration of two hours.
A grand tour of the Ridge of the World, all for just two thousand rupees.
Not a bad deal at all I would say.