The Most Extreme Helicopter Pad in Each Continent

Pilots are often tasked with landing their helicopters in extremely perilous locations. In doing so, they are required to call upon their range of know-how and stick and rudder abilities.  From rocky mountain terrains to the depths of Antarctica, this blog post will scour the continents’ most extreme and bizarre helipads.

The award for the most extreme helipad in Europe is taken by Lofoten, an archipelago in Norway known for its dramatic scenery. This small helipad is indicated by a small set of rocks and nothing else. Boasting incredible views of the gaping valleys below, this is an unbelievably unique spot and certainly not one for the faint of heart.

Moose Mountain in Canada takes the North American spot for the most extreme helicopter pad. Whilst there are plenty of options in Canada due to their remote locations, this 8000ft off the ground helipad definitely takes the best spot. A popular hiking destination, Moose Mountain sees its fair share of visitors, but very few come by helicopter! If you want to see where they filmed some of the scenes for Brokeback Mountain and put your helicopter skills to the test, this is the destination for you!

From the snowy peaks of the Canadian mountains to the warm sun of Brazil, this next pad is South America’s most extreme landing place. With the famous Christ the Redeemer statue in the background, landing at this mountain top pad without getting distracted by the scenery is certainly no easy feat. But hey, at least the helipad is more than a group of rocks this time!

Honourable mentions: Siachen Glacier, India; Golden Triangle, Unknown, South-East Asia.

The most extreme Asian helicopter pad was a very difficult choice – so much so that I had to include a couple of honourable mentions! However, the helicopter pad atop the Burj Al Arab is ultimately the one that takes the cake.

This is almost certainly the most famous helicopter pad in the world. From Tiger Woods teeing off on the helipad, to Andre Agassi and Roger Federer playing a tennis match on it, the helipad certainly has a reputation for extreme, and often unnecessary things. Built by Irish architect Rebecca Gernon, the precariousness of the pad, with it looking like it’s about to fall off of the building, is what makes this the most extreme helicopter pad in Asia.

This helipad is the most extreme one in Africa due to how unique it is – forming part of the 19th Hole of the Legend Golf Course in South Africa. The tee, located at the top of Hangklip Mountain, is only accessible by helicopter. Because of its height, a tee shot takes almost 20 seconds to land. The golf course has a dedicated spotter who is given a rough direction via radio to then find the ball. If you love golf and extreme helicopter pads, this is the place for you!

Planet Nine is an explorer superyacht, whose ice-class specification allows her to go far more than the average superyacht. Tasked with travelling the Antarctic peninsula, this vessel has all manner of toys including a fully operational helipad! Realistically any helipad in Antarctica is extreme due to the continent’s intense climate; however, Planet Nine ultimately triumphs due to it being mobile.

Lying around 2,000 km east of Australia, Tamarind Beach Estate is an oceanfront area on the archipelago of Vanuatu. With a private helipad within its grounds the estate will set you back A$5.3m ($3.83m) – but hey, at least you will have the most exceptional helipad in Oceania! Due to how remote it is and the price of the estate, this helipad is certainly the 7th and final most extreme helicopter pad.

Ranging from the sunny beaches of Oceania to the chills of Antarctica, nothing is off-limits for the daredevil pilots of the world. Each continent provides a place for you to push yourself to the limits, experience thrill-seeking adventure and of course, you’ll never be short of a story to tell!