Good to Know
  • Duration 6 Days
  • Trip Grade Moderate
  • Destination Nepal

What To Expect

  • Close-up views of Mt. Annapurna I, Annapurna South, Dhaulagiri, Fishtail, and other peaks
  • Experience the newly explored trail to Mardi Himal
  • Experience a Jungle trek
  • Reaches to the viewpoints like Australian Camp, Potana, Badal Danda, Deurali, and the Mardi Himal Base Camp

Mardi Himal is a recently explored hidden treasure trekking destination. It is a lesser popular route as compared to other trekking packages. But nowadays, it is being famous day by day and the tourists are blossoming since it offers beautiful mountain views.

A trekking to Mardi Himal is preferable for those who wish to have strenuous trekking in the Annapurna region of Nepal within short trekking days. It can be completed within a week. This trek is also perfect for non-crowd lovers.

Mardi Himal trek offers stunning views of Mt. Annapurna massifs, Mt. Dhaulagiri, Mt. Machchhapuchchhre, and Mt. Manaslu. This trek is absolutely amazing. If you wish to see such mountains again from the viewpoint, Poon Hill is another best option.

To go to Mardi, a trekker needs to buy an ACAP. It means Annapurna conservation area permit because the Mardi Himal lies in the Annapurna region. So, today most of the trekkers love to adjoin Mardi Himal and Annapurna base camp trek together.

Regarding ACAP, a trekking permit, you can buy it either in Kathmandu or Pokhara at the Tourism Information Center. Or your local travel agent helps you in purchasing this permit. Besides, a TIMS card is another thing that you must buy for going to the Mardi Himal trek and it can be bought at the same center where the permit sells.

Though there is a rare risk of high altitude sickness, the route to Mardi Himal treks in Nepal is moderately difficult.

How to get to Mardi Himal?

After your arrival in Kathmandu, you can have either air travel or road travel to Pokhara. It takes almost 20 minutes on a plane while it is 6 hours on a bus.

From Pokhara, you can have a road drive again to the trekking starting point. This place is called Kande. It takes approximately one and a half an hour to reach there. Then your actual Mardi Himal trek begins.

From this day, you must walk almost 5-6 hours per day and sometimes even more. After starting your treks, you will go to Deurali for spending the first night of the trekking. You can reach there through the Australian camp. This camp is popular for seeing the mesmerizing Mt. Annapurna ranges sceneries.

The next day, a journey to Mardi Himal starts again. The trail goes through the forest camp at first and takes you to Low camp finally for spending a night.

Then you will reach High Camp on the third day of the trek.

On the fourth day, you will get to your final destination. It is a hike to Mardi Himal, from where you can observe the natural panoramas of the mountains.

Itinerary
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Mardi Himal Trek Itinerary

  • AccommodationTea House
  • MealsBreakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
  • Maximum Altitude1900 meters

After having breakfast, you will have an hour of drive to Kande. Then an actual Mardi Himal trek begins. The trail goes up steeply on the stepping path through the forest of rhododendron in the beginning and reaches the Australian camp. It is not a viewpoint but offers mesmerizing mountain views. You will have lunch there and rest for some hours. 
Then the trek goes down toward a Potana village for spending a night. From there, you can see the very nice scene of Mt. Machchhapuchchhre.

  • AccommodationTea House
  • MealsBreakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
  • Maximum Altitude2600 meters

Today's trek heads off into the wilderness, leaving tourists, other trekkers, and even villagers behind. Enter an enchanted forest of birch, giant rhododendron, mountain oak, maple, and hemlock. If the weather is clear there will be stunning mountain views while trekking.

  • AccommodationTea House
  • MealsBreakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
  • Maximum Altitude3210 meters

Today's ascending trail takes you to Badal Dan. It is five hours of walking. The trail goes up through the classic cloud forests of lichen, ferns, mosses, and orchids. During this forest walk, you can witness the panoramic scenes of Hiunchuli Himal from the window of tree leaves on your right side. While Modi Khola Valley can be seen from the left-hand side leading up into the Annapurna Sanctuary.
You will have a packed lunch on the way. Then a shorter walk, but a steep ascend takes you to the High Camp. It is a grassy trail through a narrow ridge. Sometimes, you may need to walk on the snow trail as well.
From High Camp, you can view the close-up of Mt. Machchhapuchchhre.

  • AccommodationTea House
  • MealsBreakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
  • Maximum Altitude5000 meters

It is a longer-hour trekking day because you are going to reach your destination i.e. Mardi Himal base camp. So, you need to wake up a bit early in the morning and have breakfast, and begin a trek earlier before the wind comes.
Your journey begins and takes you up to 5000 meters elevation above sea level. You can see the separation of the south face of Mt. Machchhapuchchhre from the summit of Mardi Himal. The blue glaciers of the Annapurna Sanctuary wall also lie there just beyond the crest.
You can view the astonishing sceneries of Mt. Annapurna I, Mt Dhaulagiri to Ganesh Himal ranges, and other glaciated fields.
Then you will go down to the High camp by retracing the previous ways.

  • AccommodationTea House
  • MealsBreakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

It takes almost 5 hours to reach Siding. It is a beautiful town. The local transportations are also available there. 

  • AccommodationHotel
  • MealsBreakfast and Lunch
  • Maximum Altitude800 meters

In the morning after eating breakfast, you will have a drive to Pokhara. It takes almost 3 hours to reach there.

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Inclusions
Cost Includes
  • International Airport pick-up and drop-off service
  • Permit and TIMS cards, and other paper works
  • Nepal government trekking licensed holder guide
  • Accommodation during trekking
  • Three times foods including breakfast, lunch, and dinner while trekking
  • Seasonal fruits
  • Pokhara to Kande and again to Pokhara by private transportation
  • All the government taxes
  • Farewell dinner after coming back from trekking

Note: If you wish, we can manage a porter and your accommodation in Pokhara and Kathmandu as well as the sightseeing activities.

 

Cost Excludes
  • Nepal arrival visa cost
  • Travel Insurance
  • Tips for guide
  • Porter
  • Hotels in Pokhara and Kathmandu
  • All kinds of drinks like alcohol and non-alcohol
  • Personal expenses and others that are not included in the section of "Cost Includes"
Things to Know

Mardi Himal trek cost

The total cost for trekking to Mardi Himal can be calculated by adding the accommodation, food, guide, porter, TIMS, and permits costs.

The cost for TIMS and permit cards remain the same as always as it is. It costs USD 45 per person. But other things can be considered for minimizing the total trip amount.

But it depends on you. If you hire both a porter and a guide the amount would be expensive. They charge USD 20 and USD 25 per day respectively. If you prefer to hire only a guide or a porter, the total cost would be lesser.

Similarly, if you share your accommodation, definitely the cost would be reduced. The cost for a room at a tea house in the mountain is almost USD 3-5.

The more important thing is that the cost would be cut off drastically if you pay for your food yourself because you can select food as per your affordable standard. But if you choose to pay by guide, you can have three-time meals as per your choice and if you do not eat as much as you have paid, your money will not be refunded.

The tentative cost for food and accommodations are as follows;

  • Foods Approx: cost
  • Breakfast USD 3-4
  • Lunch/Dinner USD 4-6
  • Tea USD 3-4 per cup
  • Mineral water USD 3-4 per a liter bottle

Now, you can recalculate yourself and know the Mardi Himal trek cost in total.

Note: if you afford it, you can buy a full-board package trip from a trekking agency like Rising Adventure and enjoy a trip in a very luxurious way.

Accommodations on the trek

Mardi Himal trek is trekking at a higher altitude. It is a newly explored route. So, its trail does not go through the local villages like other trekking destinations in Nepal. From Landruk to the Mardi base camp, the temporary tea houses are set only for the peak season. No one stays there permanently.

Therefore, only the basic facilities can be expected in the higher elevation. The tea houses are made up of poor infrastructure with no shower gas and electricity. Unlike other trekking zones, you need to share a room with more than two people. A room will be filled with up to 6 beds. A shared toilet, shower, and dining are built up there.

So, the accommodation cost is cheaper compared to other destinations like Annapurna base camp and Annapurna circuit. But the food cost would be a little bit expensive because it is the only source of income for the local community.

In high season, it would be better to book a guest house room earlier before your trip begins because of the fewer numbers of teahouses, it gets full.

Besides, there are some campsites at the low camp and the forest camp. If you afford it, you can do a camp trek for a more adventurous experience.

Reversely, you can get more facilities in the lower elevation area as compared to higher altitude places.

You will be provided a blanket in every lodge, but it would not be enough to quit the cold in the High camp. So, having a sleep is worth it.

Foods

Normally, you can get Nepalese, Chinese, Indian, and Western food during a trek in the mountain region of Nepal and so, do the Mardi Himal trek offers.

A typical local Nepalese meal is rice, curry, lentil, and pickle. It is served everywhere in Nepal. If you wish to eat it, you can have as much as you can at the same price. But other non-Nepalese food needs to buy on a plate basis.

The other tentative name lists of food that can be found on the Mardi Himal trek are below;

  • Chapati
  • Tibetan bread
  • Seasonal vegetable
  • Mushroom, chicken, garlic, tomato, and other veg/non-veg soup
  • Tea/coffee/milk
  • Grilled vegetable
  • Spinach
  • Spaghetti
  • boiled egg/omelet
  • rice pudding
  • oats/porridge
  • pancakes
  • pasta
  • sweets
  • spring roll
  • Mars/sneaker chocolate

Mardi Himal trek packing list

It is a short trek, so please try to pack a light bag only for 4 days. The packing lists are as follows;

  • Sleeping bag
  • Head Lamp
  • Backpack (weight basis)
  • Extra battery backup (for charging a mobile)
  • Water purifier
  • Hiking boots
  • Trekking poles
  • Hiking shirts
  • Trekking pants
  • Raincoat
  • Down jacket (season basis)
  • Sun Hat
  • Sunscreen
  • Sunglasses
  • Beanie
  • Fleece jacket
  • Comfortable sleeping clothes
  • Towel
  • Waterproof small handbag (for saving money and documents)
  • Waterproof pouch for documents, money, phone, etc.
  • First Aid Kit (provides by the company)
  • Lip balm Soap/shower gel
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Toilet paper

Travel Insurance

As we all know, travel insurance helps in an emergency situation. So, Rising Adventure strongly recommends every trekker buy travel insurance before going to the Mardi Himal trek because it is a trek at a higher altitude. Though you are fit and fine, you may get high altitude sickness sometimes and may face unavoidable circumstances like landslides, bad weather, or other things. So, you required travel insurance for tackling this condition.

Be sure that, your insurance company must be reliable and trustworthy and your insurance must cover all the expenses like hospitalization charges and helicopter rescue.

Please be noted, Rising Adventure does not sell any travel insurance. It only sells trekking and tour packages in the Nepal Himalayas.

Best season

Trekking to Mardi Himal is best in the spring and autumn seasons. Normally, these are the peak trekking seasons and are preferable for doing every activity in Nepal because the weather looks bright and shiny. Spring comes just after the monsoon. So, the rain washes out every speck of dirt from the sky. The surrounding atmosphere seems neat and clean.

Similarly, autumn falls after the winter season before the rainy times. So, the days are longer. The temperature is warm on a sunny day. The sky looks crystal clear. As a result, the Himalayan panoramas can be seen very nicely.

But Rising Adventure does not recommend you to do the Mardi Himal trek at the beginning of September and march though, these months come under spring and autumn seasons respectively. Because there would be a chance of rainfall till the second week of September although spring begins. As a result, the route gets muddy. The rain may create a blockage on the track. And sometimes, it would be impossible to walk or even can not come out of the home due to the heavy rainfall. Due to the continuous rain, all the teahouses may get closed as well.

On the other hand, the colder period may remain till the second week of march even though, autumn starts. So, there would be snowfall on a trail. The route may get buried under the snow. The temperature goes down.

Overall, the months of April, May, October, and November are considered the best times for trekking in Nepal. However, a trekker may join this Mardi trek in their favorable time within these peak months.

    Mardi Himal Trek FAQs
    • Mardi Himal trek can be rated as a moderate level of trekking for beginners while it can be easier trekking for other habituated trekkers. It is a walk on the uphills and a long trek. You need to trek for almost 5 hours per day. But the duration of trekking is shorter as compared to other destinations.

    • It takes 4 days to complete the entire Mardi Himal trek from Pokhara.

    • The Mardi Himal trek is almost 40 kilometers far from Kande. It is a trekking starting point. You need to have a half an hour's drive there from Pokhara. Then the trekking begins. The Mardi Himal trek trail includes the places like Kande, Australian Camp, Potana, Deurali, Forest Camp, Badal Danda, High Camp, Mardi Himal Base Camp, and the Low Camp.

    • The cost of the Mardi Himal trek depends on your requirements. So, please mention your requirement in our inquiry form and we will let you know after calculating. The average cost is rated at top of this page. Please, look at there and see more about the cost including and excluding details.

    • Trekking to Mardi Himal is completely a safe destination. You can join this trek very confidently. But if you are looking to do this trek as a solo trekker you must be careful though it is not a landslide and an avalanche area. Because from the High Camp to Mardi Himal, the trail is narrow and would be very risky especially in the winter season due to the heavy snowfall. The snow covers all the routes, so you may not be able to find a safe pathway.
      But if you hire a guide, it would be safer and risk-free because a guide knows everything about the destination. Therefore, please research well about every trekking destination including the Mardi Himal trek before planning to join as a solo trekker. 

    Customer Reviews
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    • V

      Awesome 5 day Mardi Himal Trek

      Vanessa, United KingdomTrip Date: October 23, 2023

      Had an awesome 5-day trek to Mardi Himal. Our guide Bishal knew everything about the place and Ram, our porter, was all smiles and strength, made our journey super smooth. Both guys were great - they made sure we were well looked after and really brought the trip to life. The trek was a good challenge with some beautiful views that are totally worth the effort. Definitely recommend it if you're up for an adventure. Shout out to Bishal and Ram for being absolute champs!

      - Vanessa Lawson

      TripAdvisor