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The Mardi Himal Trek takes you to the east of Annapurna Base Camp, virtually under the spectacular mountain Machhapuchhre. Also known as Mount Fishtail. As you trek along the ridge, you can look down at Annapurna Base Camp! It is almost too good to be true. But, you will see it is real with you own eyes.
Trekking to Mardi Himal will take you about 7 days. However, we can customize this itinerary for you. You can make this trek longer or even stitch it together with a different trek. For instance, the viewpoint of Poon Hill or even Annapurna Base Camp (ABC)!
Yes! Definitely. Mardii Himal is a great trekking destination in the Annapurna region. Immerse yourself in the beauty of nature and local culture. This trek provides a breathtaking panorama of the Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, Machhapuchre, and Manaslu mountain ranges.
The trek goes through quiet stone built villages past wonderful rhododendron forests blooming in many different colors. The forest path continues until about 3,300 m when the trail takes on a rugged mountain setting with spectacular views of Mardi Himal, Machhapuchhre and Annapurna South. During the Mardi Himal Trek, you will eat and sleep in basic mountain lodges, runned by locals.
Yes! Actually, we encourage you to do so. You can make this trek unique and truly YOURS! Obviously, you don’t need to figure it all out by yourself. We are here for you. Do you want to speed up and make it extra challenging? Or, take it easy and slow? Just contact us. We will draft a tailored itinerary for you. Do you like it? Then we’ll make it happen.
We are looking forward to hearing from you.
– Govinda & Lilly
Welcome to Nepal! Your international flight lands at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. We’ll pick you up and bring you to your hotel.
At the hotel, you’ll meet your guide and have your pre-trip meeting. Got questions? Feel free to ask! You can also check your gear and trekking equipment together.
airport transfer – hotel
Early morning, you catch a tourist bus to Pokhara. The ride will take about 8 to 9 hours.
Option: To save time, you can opt for a 30-minute flight to Pokhara instead. This would give you the opportunity to explore the peaceful city by the lake. Contact us for more details.
breakfast – bus – buspark transfer – hotel
From Pokhara, you drive to Phedi in about a half an hour. This is is the starting point of our trek! Today, you trek to Pothana (1,890 m). The trail is steep until Dhampus and then it is a pleasant easy walk up to Pothana, where you will be staying in a mountain lodge for the first night.
breakfast – private vehicle – lunch & dinner – mountain lodge
From Pothana, you walk up to a place called Pitam Deurali. Here you’ll turn off the main Annapurna Sanctuary trekking route and continue along a quiet trail through a dense forest of oak, maple, hemlock and rhododendron.
Tonight, you stay at one of the lodges in a clearing of the forest at Forest Camp, also known by the locals as Kokar. The lodges at Kokar are quite basic and there is no dining room. So, you will probably have your meals in the kitchen with the owner. In some ways, this is more like a homestay. It is a great opportunity to get to know this friendly family from Siding village.
breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge
From Forest Camp, the trail to Low Camp takes us through the forest. However, as you ascend, the vegetation starts to change with more rhododendron. The trees are covered with moss, lichen and tree ferns.
At Low Camp, there are just 2 basic lodges. If the weather is clear, the view from Low Camp is superb, with Mount Machhapuchhre visible up the valley.
breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge
An hour or so above Low Camp, the trail breaks out above the tree line. And towards the west you can have a good view to Annapurna South and Hiunchuli. The trail continues along the Mardi Himal ridge, mainly on grass with some isolated rhododendron bushes along the way. Look out for the colourful Danphe pheasant on this section of the trail.
The lodge at High Camp is larger than lodges at Low Camp and Forest Camp, as this one has 8 rooms and a separate dining room with heater. The view from the lodge is superb to Annapurna South, Hiunchuli and Machhapuchhre (Fishtail).
breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge
The plan for today is to wake up early, to see sun rise over the mountains. After that, you’ll have early breakfast and walk up the ridge towards Mardi Himal Base Camp.
There is a well-established trail through the grass with a couple of steeper sections, however, overall not too challenging. Look out for the dzokpo (yak/cow crossbreds) grazing up here, as well as Danphe pheasant. In the summer, sheep and goats from lower villages are brought up to graze in this area so you will pass a number of herder’s huts along the way. After about 3 hours, you’ll reach Base Camp (4,250 m).
From Mardi Himal Base Camp, you can look into the Annapurna Sanctuary, and the panorama view is spectacular. You can see the south face of Annapurna and all of the peaks in the Sanctuary as well, such as Hiunchuli and Machhapuchhre (Fishtail).
breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge
On the way down, you take a different route. From Low Camp, you follow a trail that goes down to Siding village instead of going back down to Kokar.
Siding is a traditional Nepalese village and still very much away from the busier modern tourist treks. It is a wonderful cultural experience, finding out more about village life. In the evening, you will probably eat dal bhat with the family in their kitchen.
breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge
From Siding, you will pass the villages of Kalimati and Ghalel. Kalimati is mainly a Brahmin village with Ghalel and Siding mixed Brahmin and Gurung. At Lumre you will meet our driver who drives you back to Pokhara.
breakfast & lunch – private vehicle – hotel
Today, it’s time to hop on the bus back to Kathmandu.
Option: To save time, you can opt for a scenic 30-minute mountain flight to Kathmandu, instead of taking the bus. This would give you the opportunity to explore the city. Contact us for more details.
breakfast – buspark transfer – bus – hotel
If it’s the final day of your holiday in Nepal. Your international flight departs from Tribhuvan International Airport Kathmandu.
Goodbye friends! We hope that you will cherish these memories we’ve made together forever.
breakfast – airport transfer
Don’t just take our word for it.
EXCELLENT Based on 36 reviews Culture25343824590November 11, 2024Verified Everest Base Camp or Annapurna circuit. This is why you hire a guide service. I’m an American on my 1st trip to Nepal and found “by Mountain People” through internet searches and booked an Everest base camp trip with them. I arrived in Kathmandu but my bag did not! As soon as I notified Govinda of this he was immediately on top of it. He called the airport and airline everyday to locate my bag, received calls late at night and even contacted the hotel to confirm its arrival after 3 days of waiting. Next, when we arrived at the airport to fly to Lukla no flights were going out due to clouds and fog. For 3 days my guide Buddhi fought the crowd at the airport check in to try and get us on a plane while I sat comfortably with a cold drink in the shade. With more bad weather forecasted we made a new plan. Go back to Kathmandu and do the Annapurna circuit instead. Immediately the next day Govinda and Buddhi had all the transportation and arrangements made and we were off to the Annapurna! We proceeded to trek the next 10 days with tea houses, meals and accommodations always handled flawlessly by Buddhi and the sudden change in itinerary never cost me a thing. Govinda and Buddhi made it a top notch trip and were very professional in every way. They went out of their way to make certain my trip was a success, and it was! When I come back to Nepal I will definitely use by Mountain People again and you should too. Sincerely, Chris Brown. Peter OOctober 21, 2024Verified Best experience in Nepal Everything was perfectly organized. It was the best trek I have done in nepal. Thank you Govi. I definitely recommend Mountain People as a local guide. kirke tOctober 19, 2024Verified Perfect holiday We booked our holiday to Nepal with By Mountain People. We told them what we wanted and based on that they made a personal plan for us. Everything was arranged smoothly and we are very satisfied. The contact was personal and the responses were quick. We really enjoyed our time in Nepal without worrying about anything. We met Govinda in Person and went out for dinner. He is a very spontaneous and warm person with a passion for Nepal. I would definitely recommend By Mountain People if you want a relaxing holiday for a good price! We did the Annapurna Basecamp Trek and our guide was really lovelely (see pictures). Merel LApril 7, 2024Verified Best organisation to book your hike We loved our 4-day trip to the Muldai Viewpoint and Poonhill! By Mountain People suggested to do the Muldai Viewpoint combined with Poonhill in 4 days. The hike to Muldai was a climb but doable for everyone with basic condition. We walked to the Muldai top practically on our own with amazing viewpoints during the hike. From the Poonhill viewpoint there were lots of other tourist but also a little bit more comfort so we loved the combination. Especially our guide Pratap made the trip unforgetable. He knows everything about the nature, birds and animals. By Mountain People helped us with the preparation and fixed everything for us. Permits, food, overnight homestays etc. Would recomment to everyone. Was the best four days of our trip to Nepal Angela MMarch 17, 2024Verified Crafting Memories with By Mountain People in Annapurna When we decided to go to Nepal for our holidays, we knew we wanted to do a trekking in the Annapurna region, but we didnt know from where to start. That's when we met Govinda, who helped us with everything related to our trip, providing a personalised proposal for the 4 days we had, giving us all the information needed, and being a reliable and helpful point of contact during our whole journey before, during and after our trek. In the end we went for the Mulde peak trek, a less crowded route that exceded all expectations.Our guide Ganesh, was the best guide we could have wished for, always with a smile he knew every little secret of the Annapurna range, explaning not only the different routes, but also about the plants & animals present in the area, and about Nepal and its traditions. He was very caring and he made our experience unforgettable. We can only recommend to do a trekking with By Mountain People, they know what they are doing, accomodation and food was included in the total price and we didn't have to worry about anything. Having a guide in the Annapurnas is really an added value, and we can't wait to be back with a little extra time to do the Annapurna circuit next time. If you're looking to get most out of your experience in the Himalayas, and for a personalised and personal approach, then By Mountain People is the right party to team up with. Jess MMarch 7, 2024Verified Keep your head in the clouds but your feet on the trail. The hard miles brought big smiles on this trip with By Mountain People. They were flexible, positive, and really just a joy to be with. Made for a fun and easy trip. I continue to recommend By Mountain People to both friends and family if they have a thought of doing a trek in Nepal. Many Thank You Guys! Sean GFebruary 18, 2024Verified Great people for a great adventure! I can't say enough about how well everything was orchestrated. Our guide and porter were wonderful and very friendly. Nepal is a beautiful country with very friendly people. It's been a few months now and I still think of the trekking almost daily. If I ever have another opportunity to hike in Nepal, I would be blessed! Thank you Govinda! Anouk KDecember 10, 2023Verified Jiri - Everest Base Camp My friend and I booked a 20+ day trek with Lily & Govinda from mid-nov to begin-dec. We loved their personal approach in arranging the trip, from preparations and choosing which trek to go for, to regular check-ins during and a great feedback/debrief session afterwards! We started from Jiri instead of the popular way of flying to Lukla. That was a great experience and an absolute recommend to start lower if you have time! eliza bNovember 19, 2023Verified Magnificent slow trek and bird watching to Khopra Danda! Magnificent trek!! In October 2023 the two of us did this beautiful trek organized by BMP.It all started 6 months earlier, when I was looking for a company that would put people first in organizing treks in Nepal. What a nice coincidence when I learned that Govinda, a former language student of mine, happened to be the owner of By Mountain People, an organization that had customized and small scale treks as its core business!We had very nice and informative preparative talks about our wishes. Being almost 70 years of age, we wanted to have sufficient possibilities to adapt our journey on the way, in case the altitude would cause problems. Also we wanted to visit places off the beaten track and see something of village life on the way. Govinda suggested the Khopra Danda trek with some extra days so we could shorten the daily walking distance. This was a very good advice and he organized it very well! We met Govinda again in Kathmandu before we started out. He introduced us to our guide Pratap Gurung.Pratap was really a very excellent guide!! His knowledge of the natural surroundings and especially of the birds were truly amazing!! He was very attentive to our wellbeing and patiently answered our many questions. He taught us so much about the different species and habitats of all the birds he would point out to us. His experience made that we always felt safe and well looked after. Also we learnt that Govinda stayed regularly in contact to ensure that everything went well. Following our 2 weeks of trekking, BMP also organized an extra 4 days visit to Chitwan National Park. Here we stayed in the nice Safari Club hotel. Her also we were very happy with our guide Yadav Duwadi He is a nice and calm guide with a lot of knowledge and very attentive.We absolutely recommend this “slow trekking” by BMP! Specially for senior travellers such as us, but also for everybody who wants to fully enjoy the beauty of the Himalayas. A guide such as Pratap Gurung was perfectly suited for this type of trekking.Thank you BMP!! Thijl and Linda Gira_svSeptember 12, 2023Verified Tilicho Lake and Annapurna Circuit I went on a 19-day trek on the Annapurna Circuit. I had great communication with Lily and Govinda before arriving in Nepal and throughout my trip. They shared with me all the information that I needed. Ganesh, and a porter, Nima. Both of them were incredibly kind. They literally held my hand through the toughest parts of the trek and we also had lots of fun playing cards, sharing anecdotes and trying to learn each other’s languages. The Annapurna circuit itself is incredibly beautiful and diverse. Since I arrived at the end if the monsoon season there were still some rains and landslides which made the days at lower altitudes a little tricky but once we started to ascend the weather changed and we had wonderful views of the mountains on this range and visited several Tibetan towns and Gompas. Overall, I had a great experience with them I would take a trip again with them in a heartbeat. Thanks, Ganesh, Nima, Lily, and Govinda!
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