Mardi Himal Trek

Once you land at Tribhuvan International Airport, go to the electronic kiosks if you need a visa on arrival, where you scan your passport and fill out a short digital form. Walking out of the terminal can feel like a lot all at once since you step into a courtyard full of drivers, guides, and hotel staff holding up name signs. Look carefully in the crowd for your name or our trekking agency logo, and once your driver finds you, they will take your bags and hand you a silk scarf called a khada as a warm welcome and a wish for good luck on your trip ahead.

The drive from the airport to the tourist area of Thamel takes thirty minutes to an hour depending on how heavy the traffic gets. Once you reach your hotel, you can check in, head to your room, and enjoy a hot shower to wash off the tiredness of the flight. If you arrive with some daylight left, take a walk around the Thamel market. It is also a good time to pick up anything you still need for the trek. In the evening, you will meet your agency manager for a welcome dinner where they will walk you through your permits, your daily plan, and your gear before answering any questions you have about the journey ahead.

Your day starts early so you can get past the traffic that builds up around the exit points of the Kathmandu Valley. If you take the tourist bus, you will head to Bus Park, a short ride from Thamel, where buses pull out right around 7 AM. These tourist buses are comfortable, air-conditioned, and have large storage space underneath for your trekking bags. The road first climbs up the valley near Nagdhunga before it drops down into the Trishuli River basin. From here you will follow the Trishuli River and later the Marshyangdi River for several hours.

On the way, the bus makes a few stops to keep you comfortable. Lunch usually happens around 12:30 PM near towns like Malekhu, Mugling, or Dumre, and this is a great chance to try a full plate of dal bhat with rice, lentils, and vegetable curry, which will keep your energy up for the rest of the drive. By late afternoon, you will reach the lakeside city of Pokhara somewhere between 3:30 and 5 PM. On a clear evening, look north, and you may catch your first view of the Annapurna range along with the Machhapuchhre peak (also known as Fishtail).

After a good breakfast at your hotel in Lakeside you will pack your bag and check out before hopping into a jeep for the one-hour drive to the trailhead at Kande (1,770m). The road follows the Baglung Highway, and as you climb out of the Pokhara valley, you will pass farming villages with beautiful views of terraced fields below and the Annapurna range to your right. Once you reach Kande, you will step out, unpack your poles, and take your very first steps on the Mardi Himal trail.

After about ninety minutes of climbing, the trail opens onto a flat grassy area known as Australian Camp (2,060m), known for providing Annapurna South and Machhapuchhre views. Within another hour, you will reach the stone village of Pothana, where your guide will check in your ACAP permit at the local police post while you rest at a nearby teahouse. From Pothana, the trail climbs again for about ninety more minutes until you reach Deurali (2,100m) village.

You will wake up around 6:30 AM, pack your bag, and enjoy a hot breakfast of porridge or fried eggs with chapati before heading out on the trail by around 7:30 AM. Just past the lodges of Deurali, you will see a wooden sign pointing toward Mardi Himal Trek, and once you follow this, your phone signal slows down, and the number of trekkers around you will drop noticeably. The path now leaves behind the stone steps you walked yesterday and turns into a forest track of tree roots and moss-covered rocks.

As you move deeper into the forest and pass around 2,400m, the humid air of the lower hills disappears and a cooler feeling takes over, so you may want to wear a fleece or windbreaker during your rest stops. After a final push up a series of steps, the forest opens up to a peaceful settlement known as Forest Camp or Koka (2,520m). You’ll arrive here between 12:30 and 1:30 PM, where you’ll find many simple wooden teahouses situated in a clearing surrounded by forest.

You’ll wake up around 6:30 AM, enjoy a hot breakfast of porridge, eggs, or Tibetan bread, pack your gear, and hit the trail by 7:30 AM. There is no easy warm-up today since the path climbs straight up from the bottom of the clearing and heads right back into thick forest. For the first ninety minutes or so, you will keep climbing natural stone steps in classic Mardi Himal style, with the forest changing to old rhododendron and oak trees covered in lichen as you pass 2,800m.

As you get closer to 3,000m, you will start to feel the climb in your lungs a bit more than before. Keep your steps short rather than rushing, since saving your energy here matters for how you feel later at higher altitude. After around three hours of uphill walking, the thick trees thin out and the trail opens to a small grassy area known as Low Camp (2,970m). On a clear day, this is where the trek offers its best views, since Machhapuchhre appears directly ahead, looking far larger and closer than it did back in Pokhara.

The route wastes no time today and climbs right away over a rocky path through the remaining areas of rhododendron trees. After about 1 hour of climbing, you reach Badal Danda (3,250m), which means Cloud Hill in the local language. This spot is well known for good reason, since you can look left into the canyon of the Modi Khola River that leads toward Annapurna Base Camp and look right into the drop of the Mardi Khola valley. Straight ahead, Machhapuchhre and Annapurna South appear completely clear with nothing blocking the view.

From Badal Danda the trail turns into a true ridge walk all the way to High Camp. You will follow the open alpine pastures where yaks and sheep sometimes graze during the warmer months. Around midday, warm air from the valleys rises and forms thick clouds that move over the ridge, covering the trail in soft white fog, so stay close to your guide and keep your trekking poles ready for balance until you reach High Camp (3,580m).

Layer up fully with thermal wear, a fleece, a warm down jacket, windproof pants, gloves, thick socks, and a beanie before heading down to the dining hall. Force yourself to drink a hot cup of black tea or ginger water and eat something light like a slice of Tibetan bread to wake your body up.

The climb starts right away at around 4 AM on stone steps that follow the ridge, and in the darkness your headlamp becomes your whole world. You will reach the Upper Viewpoint (4,200m) around 5:45 to 6 AM, just as the sky starts to glow from the morning light. Standing here, you can watch the sunrise over Machhapuchhre turning its snow deep red, along with Annapurna South, Hiunchuli, and Annapurna I.

For many trekkers, the Upper Viewpoint feels like the perfect place to stop, but if you feel strong, you can continue toward the true Base Camp. It takes another one and a half to two hours of walking to reach Mardi Himal Base Camp (4,500m), decorated by prayer flags and a metal sign. Standing here, you find yourself beneath the south face of Mardi Himal and close to the base of Machhapuchhre. Once you take your photos and enjoy the moment, it is time to turn back and retrace your steps to High Camp.

Your morning starts with one last look at the Annapurna range before you head down. Since the tough summit push is already behind you, there is no need for a dark early start today, so you can enjoy a relaxed breakfast at High Camp. The first part of the walk takes you back on the same open ridge you climbed a few days earlier, passing through Badal Danda before reaching Low Camp. Once you reach Low Camp after about two to two and a half hours, it is a good place to drink some water, shed your warm jacket, and get ready for the forest areas ahead.

Right past the teahouses at Low Camp, you will leave your original path and turn onto a different trail that drops straight down toward the valley floor instead of heading back through Forest Camp. After crossing a few suspension bridges and walking past terraced fields, you will arrive in the traditional Gurung and Brahmin village of Sidhing (1,700m) somewhere between 2 and 3:30 PM. Here you will find a true working mountain village with water buffalo in the yards, children playing in the ground, and fields full of millet and corn.

You will wake up around 7 AM and enjoy fresh breakfast at your homestay before packing up and hitting the trail by 8 AM. The walk from Sidhing to Lumre feels like saying goodbye to the trail and is very different from yesterday’s steep walk. The path follows a dirt road located beside the Mardi Khola River with no ridges or very long steps left to climb, so your knees finally get a break.

After about two to two and a half hours of walking, you will reach the Lumre town (1,600m) around 10:30 AM, which marks the end of the walking trail. From here, you will ride a private jeep for the drive back to Pokhara. The first part follows a dirt track out of the valley before joining a paved road near Hemja, and you will reach Lakeside Pokhara around 12:30 to 1 PM. After days in the mountains, getting back to your hotel will feel great, so take a long, hot shower and relax. Once you’re refreshed, head to Lakeside and enjoy a meal of your choice after days of simple trekking food.

Most hotels are happy to prepare a simple breakfast box with boiled eggs, bread, and fruit if you ask the night before, which is handy for an early departure. A short walk takes you from Lakeside to the tourist bus park in Pokhara, where buses line up and pull out right around 7 AM. The first hour takes you out of the Pokhara valley through the Tanahun district before the road joins the Marshyangdi River. Later, past the junction town of Mugling, the route follows the Trishuli River, which is well known for rafting groups.

Around 12:30 PM, you will stop for a longer lunch break near the riverside town of Malekhu. You will reach the tourist bus drop-off point in Kathmandu near Shorakhutte or Balaju sometime between 3:30 and 5 PM, just a short ride from Thamel. After checking back into your hotel, we’ll take you to a farewell dinner at one of the restaurants, where you can enjoy a wood-fired pizza, a cold local beer, or a plate of hot, steaming momos.