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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 in Nepal! We will pick you up at the international airport in Kathmandu, and bring you to your hotel in the backpackers area of Thamel.
airport transfer – hotel
After a good night of sleep and hopefully beating the jetlag, we will meet again for a pre-trip meeting. We will introduce you to your mountain guide and we will discuss the itinerary. If you have any questions or requests, please let us know.
Note: please, make sure you bring your passport to the meeting, along with your travel insurance policy. Carry both the original policy and a copy for us. We wil also request you to clear the due balance, if any.
What’s next? You can use this day to adjust to the different timezone, altitude and climate. Also, you can prepare yourself for your trek and do some last shoppings at one of the many outdoor gear shops around your hotel.
breakfast – hotel
Your mountain guide picks you up at your hotel early morning. Together, you take the bus from Kathmandu to Pokhara. This takes about 6 hours.
breakfast – bus – hotel
From Pokhara, we drive to Phedi in about a half an hour. This is is the starting point of our trek! Today, we trek to Pothana (1,890 m). The trail is steep until Dhampus and then it is a pleasant easy walk up to Pothana, where we will be staying in a mountain lodge for the first night.
breakfast – private vehicle – lunch & dinner – mountain lodge
From Pothana, we walk up to a place called Pitam Deurali. Here we will 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, we 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, we will probably have our 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 we 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 we 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, we will 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, we will 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, we will take a different route. From Low Camp, we 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, we will probably eat dal bhat with the family in their kitchen.
breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge
From Siding, we will pass the villages of Kalimati and Ghalel. Kalimati is mainly a Brahmin village with Ghalel and Siding mixed Brahmin and Gurung. At Lumre we will meet our driver who drives us back to the hotel in Pokhara.
breakfast & lunch – private vehicle – hotel
breakfast – 2x airport transfer – flight – hotel
If this is the final day of your holiday in Nepal, we will bring you back to the international airport. Goodbye friends! We hope that we will meet each other again in the future.
breakfast – airport transfer
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