The Franz Josef Heli Hike with Franz Josef Glacier Guides is one of the most unique ways to experience the glacier up close. The trip starts in the Franz Josef village where you’re fitted with all the necessary gear before boarding a helicopter for a short scenic flight directly onto the glacier.

Once you land, you’ll step onto the ice and follow your guide through a constantly changing landscape of blue crevasses, ice caves and frozen formations — all shaped by the glacier’s natural movement. The hike itself is relatively moderate and designed for people with a good level of mobility rather than mountaineers, so you don’t need any alpine experience.

Franz Josef Glacier is one of the fastest-moving glaciers in the world, which means no two days are exactly the same — the routes and formations change continuously with the ice.

Photography info: You can safely bring a camera on the tour (they provide a waterproof waist bag). The glacier light can be harsh on sunny days and deep blue in low light, so a wide-angle lens works best to capture scale and depth. Polarising filters also help reduce glare off the ice.

This is one of the most spectacular ways to stand literally on a glacier — and the helicopter ride alone is worth it.