Mardi Himal Trek is a hidden pride for adventurers! It is located just a few kilometers east of Annapurna Base Camp. You can enjoy an entirely charming and peaceful destination beyond lush rhododendron forests. Whereas, the breathtaking views of Machhapuchhre, Mardi Himal, and Annapurna I almost throughout the trek.
Mardi Himal (5587m) is an extension of the southwest section of the Machhapuchhre peak. The trail to Mardi Himal High Camp leads through the small Gurung and Magar settlements. Along with the rhododendron forests until high camp. The landscape changes quite abruptly from hills to a rugged high mountain landscape. Also one of the shortest famous family treks in Annapurna. It remains a peaceful trail compared to the neighboring Ghorepani and Annapurna Base Camp trails.
Mardi Himal Trek begins at Kathmandu and advances west towards Pokhara City. The trek begins at Kande Village located almost 40km northwest of Pokhara. It gradually advances through the traditional Gurung and Magar villages en route to Mardi Himal High Camp. You’ll trek past lushly forested villages including Australian Base Camp and Deurali to arrive at the rugged mountainous landscape at Low Camp.
The trail rises through rhododendrons and bamboo forests towards the High Camp (4500m). Although it is known as the base camp, the upper camp lies a few hours above and offers magnificent views of Annapurna massif, Machhapuchhre, and Mardi Himal. The Mardi Himal summit lies just 2 hrs away. You’ll begin descending through the same path along with the alpine shrubs and lush Rhododendron forests towards Siding Village. From Siding, you’ll catch your commute back to Pokhara. The trip concedes once you arrive in Kathmandu. Mardi Himal Trek can be undertaken anytime during the spring (Mar-Jun) and autumn (Sep-Nov) seasons.
High Route Adventure specializes in tailored treks around Nepal. We conduct all kinds of treks. Our inclusive trek package covers transportation inside the country, a tour of Kathmandu city, three meals a day, an experienced guide, porter, permits, and entire logistics.
Welcome to Kathmandu! Upon your arrival, our representative will warmly receive you at the airport and bring you to your hotel located at the heart of the city. You'll meet your trek guide at the hotel and discuss the itinerary in detail. The guide will prepare your TIMS and other permits in advance.
After early breakfast at the hotel, you'll embark on a commute and drive towards Pokhara located almost 200km west of Kathmandu City. Along with being a popular tourist destination, Pokhara serves as the gateway to many major and minor trek destinations such as Upper Mustang, Annapurna, Ghorepani, Sikles, and Mardi Himal. The scenic road journey may last 6-7hr and will offer a unique perspective on the lifestyle of hilly inhabitants. Upon arrival in Pokhara, you'll be escorted to your hotel.
After early morning breakfast at the hotel, you'll embark on a scenic 40min drive northwest of Pokhara. You'll drive almost A hour through Baglung Highway to arrive at the quaint Kande village. From here, you'll begin traversing along the forest's path toward Mardi Himal. Passing through small Gurung villages, you'll arrive at the Australian camp from where you can catch the magnificent sights of Annapurna massif. The trail continues along the lushly decorated rhododendron forest towards Pothana village. a Gurung village and you take to stop for lunch there. you'll find a forested ridge that takes you directly toward Pitam Deurali. It is lying in between Annapurna South, Mardi Himal, and Machhapuchhre peaks. stay overnight
Leaving Pitam Deurali, you'll continue trekking through the forested path toward the forest camp. The trail passes along the beautiful rhododendron forests. You won't find mountains visible in this section. Rising above the forests, you'll make your way towards Low Camp with only a handful of lodges. Once at Low Camp, you'll find the pristine views of Machhapuchhre and Mardi Himal up close. You can choose to hike an hour more towards Badal Danda to enjoy a clearer view of the surrounding mountains.
The trail leaves the forested path and advances towards rugged and sparsely vegetated terrain. You'll walk above the rhododendron forest and arrive in the shrubby alpine zone. Close to High Camp, you can catch the first close sight of snow-capped Annapurna South, Hiunchuli, and Machhapuchhre peaks. A short uphill trek from here will bring you to High Camp. Overnights stay at High Camp.
You'll make the final ascent of the trek and climb toward Upper View Point. You'll continue along the steeper trail that approaches Mardi Himal. Almost two hours of trekking will bring you to Mardi Himal Base Camp from where you can catch the pristine sight of Mardi Himal's summit. Almost two hours of the additional hike will bring you to Upper View Point. You can catch a close view of the Mardi Himal summit along with Machhapuchhre, Annapurna I, Gangapurna, and Annapurna III peaks from here. Afterward, you'll begin descending towards Badal Danda.
Leaving Badal Danda, you'll begin descending through the Rhododendron forested trail towards the Magar settlements. You'll take a detour and climb down towards Siding village which lies close to Low Camp. Unlike other villages in the region, Siding remains a traditional Magar village located amidst the lush forests on the foothills of Mardi Himal. From Siding, you'll catch a commute back to Pokhara City. It may take almost 1:30 hr to reach Pokhara. Overnights stay at Pokhara.
Today, you'll bid farewell to Pokhara city and head back to Kathmandu. The beautiful sight of Machhapuchhre and Annapurna I will be visible while you depart. It may take 6-7hr through Trishuli Highway to arrive at Kathmandu. Once in Kathmandu, you will be escorted to your hotel.
You'll leave for the airport. Our representative will drive you back to the airport approximately 2hr early so as to avoid any delays from traffic congestion.
September – October – November is Autumn Season: that is Nepal´s Himalayan and a great time to go hiking. March-May is known as the second-famous and best season of the year to go hiking in Mardi Himal. December – January – February: the skies are clear but it is able to get very cold and there may be a threat of passes being closed because of snowfall in the passes.
May – June: This is Nepal´s hot pre-monsoon season and it could get very warm during the day indeed. The valleys but are starting to bloom with flowers though green leaves are coming up, still an amazing time to trek.
June – early September (summer): This is Monsoon season and the least busy time to go trekking in Nepal. The risk of leeches and downpours will increase greatly. Due to the early forested regions, leeches right now 12 months in Mardi Himal are quite active! Wear long trekking trousers tucked in at this time of year.
Accommodations in Kathmandu, Pokhara, and on the path area unit are enclosed within the package price. You will be staying at 3-star deluxe hotels in Kathmandu and Pokhara.
The hotels feature free wi-fi, clean air-conditioned rooms with clean bathrooms, a restaurant, an eating place, and a bar. The properties lie at an easy and pleasant distance from all major holidaymaker attractions and international airdrome.
While trekking, five nights’ accommodation at the simplest offered teahouses. This area unit passes by native families and area unit supplies sustenance for mountain communities. As this is a lovely new trekking route the teahouse offered basic facilities like a bed, shared washroom, and cozy dining room. You need to pay extra for using the wifi, mineral water, hot shower, and battery charging.
Accommodation is organized on a twin-sharing basis. If movement solo, you get to share the area with a fellow individual of constant gender. a private room is offered for the asking, at an additional price. It’s attainable to induce one area in Kathmandu, Pokhara, and at lower elevations while trekking. however, at higher elevations, their area unit few lodges and single rooms aren't offered during tourist season.
While trekking to Mardi Himal, Good food is very important to keep all the members fit and healthy throughout the trip. Meals are served in a large dining hall, some higher cold places furnished with the pot-bellied stove to keep the dining room warm and cozy. Items of foods can be ordered by choosing two types a la carte or set menus, for a la carte with wide listed food and drink menu from Farmers, American or simple breakfast to Lunch, Dinner, and light snacks.
Most tourists standard average lodge, managed and run by family members including cooking, the menu is laden with popular and famous Nepalese meals, known as Dal-Bhat (boiled rice, lentil soup to add with mild seasonal vegetable curry), Continental, and Chinese to Tibetan with Indian as well Italian and Mexican dishes. In some good lodges on route trekking Korean and Japanese foods are also available.
Fresh meat products and items are rare in most areas of trekking, Fresh bakery items are also available in major villages on route trekking.
Mardi Himal Trek takes you near Mardi Peak (5,587m), Fishtail Peak or Machhapuchhre (6,993m), and other 7000 and 8000-meter tops. The most noteworthy purpose of your journey is to Mardi Himal Base Camp situated at 4,500 meters above ocean level. The low degrees of oxygen in such a climate will sometimes a while make breathing troublesome.
The symptoms of altitude sickness include dizziness, nausea, difficulty in sleeping, fatigue, and headache. You can also experience loss of appetite, rapid pulse, and shortness of breath. If you feel any of the mentioned sicknesses then immediately inform your tour guide or someone responsible and start climbing down to lower altitudes if you can.
The symptoms can have varying effects on different people. The most commonly felt symptom is shortness of breath. So, be mindful and keep out of these symptoms.
| Altitude | Oxygen Level |
| 1000m/3281ft | 88% |
| 2500m/8201ft | 73% |
| 3000m/9843ft | 68% |
| 3500m/11483ft | 64% |
| 4000m/13123ft | 60% |
| 4500m/14764ft | 57% |
All trekkers require to obtain trekking permits known as TIMS (Trekking Information Management Service), for the Annapurna region. Issued and controlled by TAAN (Trekking Agent Association of Nepal).
Entry Permits TIMS will be collected by your guide from High Route Adventure, associated as well lifetime member of TAAN. The entry permits TIMS, will be kept by your guide as it needs to be registered at every check-post in major villages on route trekking.
The TIMS card will be handed to you at the end of the trip, as a good memorable souvenir of the treks. The other permit required is the ACAP (Annapurna Conservation Area Project) entry fee ticket, which will be obtained by the company in Kathmandu, or at the first entrance of the ACAP check post. These are the main entry permits required on a trek around the Annapurna Himalaya region. The permits are important to ensure and safeguard all trekkers from safety, especially for individual or solo trekkers if they are lost this will help to track the missing person on route trekking.
To get the permits you need to provide the following documents and information:
Drinking water is available in every shop, and store as well as in restaurants, and in the lodge where you stay, depending upon your requirement, medically on treks and in high altitude, where one needs 3-4 liters of safe drinking water every day. One can buy safe drinking water served boiled and filtered. Where some trekkers enjoy free drinking water from the nearby fresh clear stream, water spouts, and creeks which need much filtration adding water purifying tablets, or iodine.
The best is to buy from the lodge, where drinking water is much safe boiled and cooled. Around Annapurna, there are some places with water stations, at affordable prices, like on route Annapurna Circuit, as well towards Annapurna Base Camp. The water station is run and managed by the local community and ACAP (Annapurna Conservation Area Project).
Other options are bottled mineral water available in every village store and shop as well at the lodge, the cost can be dear as you trek further high. But we at High Route Adventure, do not encourage trekkers to buy bottled water, as it creates much rubbish we follow the concept of Responsible Tourism or Eco-Trekking to preserve the surrounding pristine environment.
Most important that you purchase in your home country through good and reliable Insurance companies, which should cover medical conditions including rescue services, by the fastest means of transport like a chopper.
In all Himalayan countries including Nepal and Annapurna region, where even a healthy and physically fit can get sick, either from the past personal medical side or other reasons like AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness). For severe illness, one needs immediate evacuation, and the quickest way to reach a safe place with good medical facilities like in Pokhara city, or in Kathmandu. Travel Insurance, should cover your holiday duration in case of bad unfavorable weather conditions even at the best time of the season.
In the Himalayas or in the Annapurna region, where trail conditions can be affected by landslides or heavy snow that might create a situation to delay or cancel the trip. For unforeseen circumstances where you will be safe with your Insurance policy, which you claim back at home after providing the official letter from your local agent or High Route Adventure.
Client safety is our top priority, including guides, field staff, and porters in all our programs and itineraries, which are well-planned and designed to keep our trip as per the standard itinerary. It is also a guideline, as it can be slightly changed in case of the client’s physical fitness and weather condition. If there’s too much danger to encounters like landside, broken trails, avalanches, snowstorms, or other major calamities, we plan and decide what is best for our clients and staff's safety.
We at High Route Adventure, are fully committed to keeping all our adventures safe and sound in all respects, sometimes it all depends on the clients themselves whether they have chosen the right trips at the right time.
All our expert guides and leaders will make your holiday adventure worthwhile and memorable, in case of an emergency our guides are reliable to cope with any situation for the safety of all members including staff. As our guide has basic medical experience and First Aid, well versed in Eco-Trekking to make the trek and environment safe and enjoyable.
Contrary to popular belief, you don't require a lot of intricate gear and equipment for this journey. Here's a basic checklist of the vital elements you must remember to carry when embarking on your Mardi Himal Trek:
There are only a few of the essential items. Find a Packing list for the trekking in Nepal.
The majority of trekking gear can be rented in Kathmandu, alleviating the need for heavy baggage. By packing only the necessities and acquiring the remaining items through rentals or purchases in Kathmandu, you can travel light. Thamel's shops provide both branded and locally crafted gear and equipment.
You can leave your spare luggage in your hotel’s storage room. It is completely safe and free. But do make sure to lock your luggage before leaving it in storage.
