Travel Insurance for Everest Base Camp and Kilimanjaro
Altitude Limits, Helicopter Rescue and What Plans Exclude

1Is a High-Altitude Trek Covered? The Short Version

Everest Base Camp and Kilimanjaro are walks, not climbs. On the standard routes you carry no ropes and no ice axe. But both go far higher than most travel medical plans were written for, and the plans do not agree on what a walk that high is. One covers it as an ordinary activity. One excludes anything above 4,500 metres. The others never mention trekking at all.

We read five current policy wordings for Canadian residents and asked one question: a guided walk on a trail, with no ropes, crampons or ice axe, to between 5,400 and 5,900 metres. Is it inside the plan as the wording is written?

Our reading of each insurer's policy wording on November 10, 2026. It is not the insurer's decision on a claim. Where a wording is silent, ask the insurer in writing before you buy. Sources are listed in section 8.

So the plan you already have, from a credit card, an employer or a past trip, may or may not cover this one. Check before you pay the trekking company, not at the airport. Our guide to travel insurance exclusions covers the other activities these plans leave out.

2How High These Treks Go

The Government of Canada's travel pages for Peru and Bolivia put the starting line at 2,500 metres: "You're at risk of high-altitude illnesses if you travel 2,500 metres above sea level or more." Every trek below passes that line on the first or second day and keeps going.

Figures as each agency publishes them. Everest Base Camp has no single official height; published figures run from 5,364 to about 5,400 metres.

Two numbers in the insurance wordings matter against that table. Allianz draws its line at 4,500 metres, so Everest Base Camp, Thorong La and Kilimanjaro are all above it, while Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail are below. TuGo's line is 6,000 metres, and every trek in the table is under it.

Canada's page on high-altitude illnesses calls 3,500 to 5,500 metres "very high altitude" and anything above 5,500 metres "extreme altitude", and it names the Kilimanjaro summit as an example. It also says: "High-altitude illnesses can affect anyone, no matter your age or fitness level."

Studies of trekkers back that up. The share who get acute mountain sickness depends on the route and how fast the group climbs:

Figures from each study's published abstract. They measure different groups at different heights, so they cannot be averaged.

Most of those cases are a headache and a bad night, and they pass with rest or a walk down. The insurance question is about the few that do not: the trekker who has to be carried or flown down and treated in hospital.

3Trekking or Mountaineering? What Each Wording Says

Whether a plan pays for an emergency on the trail comes down to one clause: the list of sports and activities it excludes. Here is what each one says.

TuGo Traveller. TuGo is the only one of the five that defines mountaineering by the gear. Its wording says mountaineering up to 6,000 metres is "The act of climbing or descending a mountain to or from an elevation of 6,000 metres or less (measured from sea level) while using specialized equipment including but not limited to pickaxes, ice axes, anchors, bolts, crampons, carabineers and lead or top rope anchoring equipment." A walk without that equipment is outside the definition, and the wording adds that a sport that is not listed is covered "without the purchase of this Optional Coverage." TuGo's own sports page says the same in plain words: "With TuGo, you can hike, zipline, bungee jump or even parasail over water and still be protected" under its standard emergency medical plan.

Two limits come with that. Crampons are on the equipment list, so a trek where you put them on, such as a snowy high pass or a side trip to a trekking peak, is mountaineering as TuGo defines it. And the wording says of a glacier hike: "If the glacier hike is on a mountain, it is considered mountaineering". For those trips TuGo sells Sports & Activities Coverage, which you choose when you apply, with one option for mountaineering up to 6,000 metres and one for above it.

Manulife CoverMe. The wording excludes an emergency resulting from an accident during "Mountain climbing, including ascending or descending a mountain using specialized equipment such as crampons, pickaxes, anchors, bolts, carabiners, and lead or top-rope anchoring equipment". It does not define mountain climbing, sets no height limit, and never uses the words hiking, trekking or altitude. Whether walking up Kilimanjaro is "mountain climbing" is not something the wording settles.

GMS TravelStar. The wording excludes "any extreme sport or activity involving a high level of risk, including but not limited to" a list that names mountaineering. It does not define mountaineering either. A GMS article on excursions describes it as "climbing that requires technical gear like ropes, harnesses, or specialized guides", and gives the advice we would give: "just call your provider and ask them directly based on your policy wording." An article is not the contract, so get the answer for your trek in writing.

Allianz Emergency Medical Plan. Allianz is the only one with a height in the contract. It excludes "Any high-altitude activity" and defines that as "An activity that includes, or is intended to include, going above 4500 meters in elevation, other than as a passenger in a commercial aircraft." Equipment does not matter. If the plan for the trip is to go above 4,500 metres, the activity is excluded as worded.

Ontario Blue Cross Preferred Plan. Its list of high-risk mountain sports names "Climbing" and "Mountaineering of grades 4 and 5 according to the scale of the Yosemite Decimal System". Those grades describe scrambling and roped rock climbing, not a walking trail. But the list starts with the word "including", so it is not closed, and the plan also excludes any activity where safety instructions or closed areas are ignored.

From each policy wording. "None in the wording" means we did not find one in the document; it is not a statement that the insurer has no other product.

None of the five wordings names altitude sickness, to cover it or to exclude it. Each plan pays for a sudden and unforeseen medical emergency, so altitude illness is treated like any other illness, unless the activity you were doing is excluded. That is why the activity clause is the one to read.

4Helicopter Rescue: What Is Paid, and What It Costs

Above Namche Bazaar or on the upper slopes of Kilimanjaro there is no road. A seriously ill trekker goes down on foot, on a stretcher or a horse, or by helicopter. The plans pay for that flight in very different ways.

From each policy wording. Every benefit applies only when the plan covers the emergency itself, so an excluded activity removes the helicopter too.

What a helicopter costs. No government publishes the full price of a rescue from the Everest region or Kilimanjaro. The only official figure we found is from the United Kingdom's travel advice for Nepal: evacuation by helicopter "usually costs between £1,000 and £2,000 or more per flying hour." Canada's Tanzania page says only that medical evacuation "can be very expensive".

One real claim gives a sense of scale. TuGo describes a trekker who was treated for altitude sickness at base camp, travelled by horse to a lower altitude and was then flown by helicopter ambulance to Kathmandu. In TuGo's words, "Her air medical evacuation and horse transportation totaled $5,056.75, which we covered in full!" A longer flight, a second flight or a hospital stay in Kathmandu costs more.

The flight is not automatic. Canada's page on Nepal warns that rescues "can be hindered by" three things: "the lack of immediate payment to helicopter rescue service providers", "lack of a response from clients' insurance companies" and "limited access to regular phone service in many trekking areas". In practice the helicopter company wants to know who is paying before it flies. Carry your policy number and the assistance line on paper, give both to your guide on day one, and keep a credit card with room on it. Canada's adventure travel page says the same: "Even with insurance, you may have to pay upfront for things like rescue, evacuation, or repatriation, which can be very expensive."

Call the assistance line first. The plans can pay less when you do not:

From each insurer's policy wording.

Helicopter scams in Nepal. The Government of Canada says: "There have been documented cases of helicopter rescue and insurance scams in Nepal." It lists "unnecessary helicopter evacuations", "pressure to be evacuated without a medical assessment", "falsified medical or evacuation documents" and "inflated billing to travellers and insurance companies". Its advice is to "request a medical evaluation before consenting to a helicopter evacuation, if possible", to "avoid trekking packages that appear unusually inexpensive" and to "keep copies of all medical, insurance and evacuation documents". This is one more reason to call your insurer before you board: a flight the insurer did not approve, for a condition that did not need it, is the claim most likely to be questioned. Our guide to air ambulance costs covers the flight home to Canada.

5Guides, Fees and Travel Advisories

Both countries set their own rules for trekkers, and they touch your insurance in a few places.

Nepal. The Nepal Tourism Board says that under a rule "effective from March 31, 2023" trekkers in listed protected areas must be "accompanied by licensed trekking guide" and carry a trekking card issued through an agency. The Everest Base Camp trek and the Annapurna Circuit are on its list. Canada's page says the same: "Independent trekkers are required to hire a local licensed guide." We did not find a Nepal government rule that requires trekkers to hold insurance, but Canada advises you to "select insurance coverage for high altitude trekking and medical evacuation".

Tanzania. Tanzania National Parks says: "All climbs must be guided by a licensed operator; solo trekking is not permitted." Its latest published fee list (October 2024) includes a rescue fee of US$20 per person per trip. The list does not say what the fee covers and does not mention a helicopter or hospital care, so do not count on it as insurance. Canada's page on Tanzania says of Kilimanjaro: "People are seriously injured or killed on the mountain every year, and emergency assistance is severely limited." Its advice is to "buy travel insurance that includes helicopter rescue and medical evacuation".

Canada's page also says that foreigners entering Tanzania "are required to purchase mandatory travel insurance directly from designated national insurers", online or on arrival. The page does not say what that insurance covers. Treat it as an entry requirement, and keep your Canadian travel medical plan.

Travel advisories. On November 10, 2026, Canada's advice for both Nepal and Tanzania is "Exercise a high degree of caution" for the country as a whole. Two areas have a higher warning: the Trishuli River corridor in the Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts of Nepal, and the part of Tanzania's Mtwara Region near the border with Mozambique. Neither is in the Everest region or on Kilimanjaro. The country-wide level does not trigger an insurance exclusion. "Avoid non-essential travel" and "Avoid all travel" do, and the plans differ. Manulife, TuGo and Allianz exclude only an emergency related to the advisory. The GMS TravelStar clause has no such limit. Check the advisory the week you buy and again before you fly.

Stay on the rules of the trail. TuGo excludes its listed mountain activities in areas closed to the public or marked as off limits, and Blue Cross excludes any activity where "safety instructions, warning signs or prohibited areas are not observed". A shortcut past a closed gate can cost you the claim.

6If the Trek Is Cancelled or You Turn Back

A trek to Everest Base Camp or up Kilimanjaro is paid for months ahead: flights, the trekking company, permits. Emergency medical insurance does not refund any of that. Trip cancellation and interruption insurance does, for the reasons the policy lists. We read TuGo's and GMS's wordings for this part.

From the trip cancellation sections of each wording. Flights to Lukla are often delayed by weather; whether a delay is covered depends on the wording's carrier delay terms.

Two details matter for trekkers. First, turning back because you feel unwell is an illness claim, so expect the insurer to ask for a doctor's note from the trail or the nearest clinic. Get one before you leave the region. Second, TuGo limits a package refund when the operator cannot give an itemized invoice: "reimbursement will be limited to 70% of the total package costs for the unused tour portion of the trip." Ask your trekking company for an invoice that lists the trek, hotels, flights and permits separately.

7Before You Book: Eight Questions to Ask

• Does the plan cover trekking to the height I am going to? Give the insurer the route and the highest point in metres, and ask for the answer in writing.
• Is there a height limit in the wording? Allianz's is 4,500 metres. Most wordings have none, which is not the same as saying yes.
• Will I use crampons, an ice axe or ropes at any point? If so, you are mountaineering as TuGo and Manulife describe it, and you need a plan or add-on that covers it.
• Is a helicopter from the mountain paid, and is there a cap? GMS caps it at $20,000 and only in life-threatening circumstances.
• Is search and rescue included? Only TuGo's wording names it, up to $6,000.
• What is the penalty for not calling first, and what if there is no signal? Ask how your guide or the trekking company can call for you.
• Is my health condition covered? A heart or lung condition that is not stable as the plan defines it can be excluded, and altitude makes both worse. See our guide to pre-existing conditions.
• Does my credit card or work plan cover this trip at all? Read its sports exclusion and its trip length limit. A three-week trek is longer than many card plans allow.

Then prepare the way Canada's travel pages suggest. Climb slowly: the altitude page says to spend two to three nights at 2,500 to 3,000 metres before going higher, and an extra night for every 600 to 900 metres after that. Tell your guide about any symptoms. If they get worse while you rest, go down. Insurance pays the bill; it does not replace a slow itinerary.

If you are comparing plans, tell us the trek, the highest point and the dates. We read the activity clause for each plan you are considering and ask the insurer where the wording is silent.

8Where These Numbers Come From

Every quote and figure on this page was read at the source on November 10, 2026. Plans, fees and advisories change, so check the current wording and the current advisory before you rely on a number.

• Government of Canada: travel advice for Nepal, Tanzania and Peru; High-altitude illnesses; Adventure travellers; Travel insurance; If you are sick or injured abroad.
• Nepal Tourism Board: trekking guide and TIMS card rule, Everest region and Koshi Province.
• Tanzania National Parks: Kilimanjaro visitor guide and the fee list of October 2024.
• Government of the United Kingdom: Nepal travel advice, health and safety and security.
• Peru: Ministry of Culture (Cusco) for Machu Picchu and the national parks service (SERNANP) for the Inca Trail pass.
• TuGo: Traveller policy wording, October 2026; sports and activities page; helicopter and air ambulance claim stories.
• Manulife: CoverMe Emergency Medical policy for travelling Canadians, effective October 2023.
• GMS: TravelStar policy wording, effective July 21, 2026, and its article on excursions and extreme sports.
• Allianz Global Assistance: Emergency Medical Plan certificate, form A079PL-1023.
• Ontario Blue Cross: Preferred Plan policy, 11XVV0199A (2025-06).
• Studies, from their published abstracts: Hackett, Rennie and Levine, The Lancet, 1976; Newcomb and others, Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, 2011; Cerfontaine and others, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022; Davies and others, Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, 2009; Croughs and others, Journal of Travel Medicine, 2022.

9Frequently Asked Questions