In more than a few ways, helicopter rides are intimate. The limited passenger capacity cuts off unnecessary contact with strangers, allowing for quality interaction with the pilot and guide. The cosy setting also ensures that you’re aware of how small a body the helicopter is, thus heightening your senses.

As soon as the craft lifts off, and the ground beneath you falls away, an aerial view is guaranteed to overwhelm your senses all over again. At height, you feel a sense of closeness to sites, unmatched by that of traversing about at ground level. Perhaps it could be due to your self-awareness being heightened, and realising how small you are in comparison to your surrounding.

Some landscapes simply demand a bird’s eye view, out of bounds to fixed wing aircraft. Where certain areas are off-limits to tourists and tour buses en masse, freedom favours the whirlybird. Within reason, your pilot-guide should be able to accommodate requests to hover, fly closer, or even land on points of interests.

Buckle up, here are six scenic helicopter rides that will be etched in your mind long after the trips are over.