Mardi Himal Trek

It is a moderate trek, not an easy one, even though it is short and has no technical climbing. What makes it moderate is the altitude and the summit morning. The trek reaches 4500 m at Base Camp, and the morning from High Camp to the top is a pre-dawn start, a sustained climb on an open ridge, and a long descent the same day, around eight hours in total. The rest of the walking is straightforward. If you are comfortable walking five to seven hours on consecutive days and you respect the acclimatisation, it is achievable for a fit first-time high-altitude trekker, especially on The Journey with its extra acclimatisation night.

It is often marketed as easy because it is short and the trail is well made, but that description leaves out the altitude. Reaching 4500 m is a serious height, and the summit morning is the hardest part of any short trek in the region. We call it moderate on purpose. The walking is not technical and most reasonably fit people can do it, but going in expecting an easy stroll is how people get caught out on the summit ridge. We would rather you arrive prepared for a real mountain morning.

The altitude is the main risk on this trek and it is taken seriously. For a short trek the height is gained quickly, and Base Camp at 4500 m is high enough that altitude sickness is a real possibility. Altitude sickness has no reliable link to age or fitness, so the protections are the same for everyone: a steady pace, oxygen-saturation monitoring above 3500 m, and a clear rule that if symptoms are serious the response is to descend. The biggest single safeguard is time to adjust, which is why The Journey includes a second night at High Camp before the push to Base Camp. Your guide is trained to spot the early signs.

With us it is five days on The Trail and six days on The Journey, both starting and ending in Pokhara. The walking core is the same: up the ridge to High Camp, the summit morning to Base Camp at 4500 m, and the long descent out to Siding. The Journey adds a second night at High Camp to acclimatise before the push, plus a buffer day in Pokhara at the end. You will see the trek sold elsewhere as anything from three to ten days, but the short versions usually skip the acclimatisation that makes 4500 m safe, and the long ones pad the count with Kathmandu transfer days.

Yes. Since 2023 foreign trekkers have been required to trek in Nepal's main regions, including the Annapurna Conservation Area where Mardi Himal sits, with a licensed guide or registered agency rather than fully independently. We treat the guide as a safety measure as much as a legal requirement, especially on a route that reaches 4500 m, and a licensed guide is included on both tiers.

You need the Annapurna Conservation Area Permit, the ACAP, which is the required permit for the region. It costs 3000 Nepalese rupees for foreign trekkers, roughly 22 to 30 US dollars depending on the exchange rate, and we arrange it for you on both tiers. The TIMS card is arranged where applicable; in practice it is not currently checked on the Annapurna trails, though Nepal's permit rules have changed before, so we confirm the current position at the start of each season.

Spring, from March to May, and autumn, from September to November, are the best seasons, with the clearest mountain views and the most stable weather. Spring brings the rhododendron forest into bloom on the lower ridge. Autumn tends to have the crispest air after the monsoon. Winter is possible and very quiet but cold and sometimes snowbound high on the ridge, which can close the final approach to Base Camp. The monsoon months of June to August bring cloud, rain and leeches in the forest, and the views are unreliable, so we do not recommend them.

The trek starts and ends in Pokhara, and getting there from Kathmandu is arranged by you rather than included in the price, so you are not paying us a margin on a ticket you can buy directly. You have two options. The road takes around eight to nine hours by tourist bus or private vehicle, longer than it used to be because of ongoing construction, and it is the cheaper choice. The flight takes about twenty-five minutes and usually costs in the region of 130 US dollars one way, saving you most of a day. Once you are in Pokhara, the transfer to the Kande trailhead is included and you start walking the same morning. We are happy to advise on bookings.

The difference is time, and the safety is identical on both. The Trail walks the standard line and reaches Base Camp on the third morning, the day after first arriving at High Camp; it includes breakfast and dinner and an included porter. The Journey adds a second night at High Camp with a short acclimatisation walk, so your body has time to adjust before the push to 4500 m, which makes the summit morning safer and more likely to happen; it also includes full board. The licensed guide, the oxygen-saturation monitoring above 3500 m, and the descent protocol are the same on both. Above Forest Camp the teahouses are basic on either tier, because no operator can change the lodging up there. We recommend The Journey, but The Trail is the same trek done correctly on a tighter schedule.