AMAZING views of the Annapurna range and the famous and holy Machapuchare mountain, who wouldn’t want that? Then I’d suggest you hike up Mardi Himal, one of the 5000+ m. high mountains of the Annapurna region. While climbing to the peak is not for the unexperienced, the hike up to the viewpoint/basecamp is still one of the lesser known hikes in the region and at the same time one of the most beautiful and accessible ones. It makes for a great 3 to 5-day alternative or addition to the longer Annapurna Base Camp hike. I did it this year, so read my 2023 guide to the Mardi Himal trek for all you need to know!

Things to know:

• The hike can be done in 3 to 5 days, depending on your fitness level and your start/finish point
• Best time is October-November or March-May
• The hike can be combined with many other hikes in the region. There are different starting and finishing points.
• It might be wise to acclimatise because of the altitude. You could for example walk Poonhill first, or some other treks around the area.
• The hike can be done solo (if the government still allows this) or in a group.
• Possible starting/finishing points are Kande, Ghandruk, Landruk, Sidhing or Kalimati. These places are accessible by jeep depending on the weather.
• Buy a (recent) map! It will give you the flexibility to change your plans more easily.

Difficulty

The Mardi Himal trek is a mainly uphil trek, following a ridge for the last part. The trek is pretty straightforward, but because of the altitude increase a moderately strenuous trek. If you’re fit, it’s definitely doable. You have to really take care when you reach 2500+ m though, because this is the altitude at which you can start feeling altitude sickness (fatigue, nausea, heachache). Doesn’t matter how fit you are. Also, after lower viewpoint the hike becomes more dangerous. Don’t attempt this without other people, because if you fall down from the trail you might be lost forever (yes, this has happened before).

Permits

From April 2023, tourists are not allowed to hike without a guide anymore in Nepal. You’ll therefore need a certified guide or porter to go with you on the trail. Furthermore you’ll need a TIMS permit (although the guide might take care of this for you) and an ACAP permit, which can be bought at the ACAP office in Pokhara, or the tourism board office in Kathmandu. You’ll need 4 pictures (2 for TIMS, 2 for ACAP) and about 5000 NPR in total.

What to bring

Although it depends a bit on the season, I’d recommend bringing the following:

• rainjacket and pants (or fastdrying pants)
• a change of underwear (although you can do without for three days)
• A (very) warm jacket in case you want to stay at the top for some time to watch the sunrise
• Hiking clothes (to wear)
• WARM evening/night clothes
• Trekking poles (especially helpful on the way down)
• 2500-3000 NPR per day
• Toothbrush, toothpaste, sunblock
• Sunglasses and a cap/hat
• Gloves
• Good hiking shoes (I prefer the ankle supporting ones)
• First-aid kit, including blister bandaids, sporttape and a tick removal card
• A recent map! Even though you most likely won’t get lost here, it’s good to have a map of the area in case you want to change your plans, or in case your phone/navigation stops working
• A downloaded map on an app such as Mapy.cz
• A back-up compass

Where to leave your luggage

I would suggest you don’t bring all of your stuff, since the less you carry, the more you can enjoy the hike. You’ll probably be able to leave your luggage at the hostel/hotel you’re staying at in Pokhara. They are usually pretty used to this, but some might charge money and others might require you to stay there when you come back. Make sure you check this with your guesthouse of choice before you book anything. Otherwise you might be able to leave it with your tour agency.

How to find a guide

While I don’t have experience with finding a guide, since I did the hike without one, there are many options. One thing that’s important to know is that when you book through an agency or through your hotel/hostel, they will charge you a lot more and the guides usually don’t benefit from any of the extra money. I’ve heard guides get maybe 10 percent of what you pay… Therefore it’s better to book directly with a guide. When you’re in Nepal you will probably meet people in the streets or in shops that will offer to guide you, but the best way is to find a guide through other tourist. I’ve heard mixed stories about guides, some being amazing, some not interacting at all and others crossing the line in really bad ways. So just ask about other people’s experiences and get contact information through them. A guide will cost about 25 dollars per day. When you split this between several people it’s really no money at all to ensure your safety.

Another great and socially responsible option is to contact the organisation “3 Sisters” in Pokhara. It’s a non-profit owned by women who train other women to become guides. So you’ll really be giving back to the community and you’ll have a wonderful trek since I’ve only heard good things about them. They also have a guesthouse in Pokhara if you’re still looking for a place to stay.

Where to start/finish

If you already have a map, you might have found out there are many options from where to start and finish the route. The most easily accessible starting point from Pokhara and Kathmandu is Kande. This place can be reached by bus from Baglung bus station just outside of Pokhara city. Alternative starting points are Ghandruk and Kyumi, especially when you want to attach this route to the Poonhill or Annapurna Base Camp treks.

To avoid walking the same way back, most people finish in Sidhing, but you can, of course, also start here and walk the other way. An alternative to this is starting or finishing point is Kalimati. During our three day trek we started here (since it was a bit of an easier hike up the first day, and since finding a jeep here on the way back might be more difficult) and we finished in Sidhing. Kalimati has a nice “ecovillage” tea house which looked like a great place to stay the night if you have some extra time. When finishing here or in Sidhing you can get a shared jeep back for about 1000 NPR per person, depending on how full the jeep is. I have to say though that this jeep ride was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done in my life. However, it is unavoidable if you don’t want to walk all the way back.

(Vegan) food and accommodation

During the trek there are two options for accommodation: guesthouses and camps. I wouldn’t recommend to camp since you pay basically the same or sometimes even more while you have to bring your own gear and could just have stayed in one of the beds. There are many guesthouses along the trail, so outside of high season (April and October) it’s not necessary to book in advance. You can simply show up and get a room/bed. During high season it might be good to make a reservation in advance though. Probably calling 2/3 days before you arrive should do it. If you have a guide (which is mandatory from April 2023), he’ll probably arrange all of this for you.

The food you’ll encounter on your treks in Nepal is almost everywhere the same: Nepali, Indian, Chinese and Western dishes. There is plenty of choice, but it depends on the season and the crowds what is available. Local Dal Bhat is definitely something you should try and for most people also the best choice since you’ll get unlimited refils of rice and dal. Other good options are pizza, fried noodles, rice, spring rolls etc. Most of these options are also vegan, which is great!

3 day itinerary: Kalimati to Sidhing

If you are in a rush, but still want to have an awesome hike, you can spend a bit more money and hike the route from Kalimati to Sidhing.

Day 1: From Pokhara take an early morning (7/8) private jeep to Kalimati (just south of Sidhing) and let it drop you off at Kalimati Eco Village. The jeep can be arranged at your accommodation and will cost about 8000 NPR in total. Have some good brunch at Mardi Himal Eco Village and enjoy the Himalaya and Macchapucchare views.

From there, start walking up hill towards Forest Camp and then Low Camp. It’s about 8km in total and 1000 altitude meters. It takes around 3-4 hours (without breaks). You can have some lunch at forest camp. It takes a bit long some times so make sure you leave in time to reach Low Camp. When arriving at Low Camp, find a nice lodge and enjoy your evening!

Day 2: On day two you’ll hike from Low Camp to High Camp. It’s quite a relaxed day. Even though it’s again a lot of uphil hiking, it’s only around 5,5 km, 550 altitude meters and takes only about 2 – 2,5 hours. You can have a nice break at one of the camps in between for a nice lunch and maybe some WiFi (signal isn’t very good on the trail). Then continue your walk to High Camp. We stayed at the first hut there, which was a really nice one. It can get quite cold, so if there’s no fire yet, you could ask them to make one.

Day 3: Day three is the longest and hardest. If you have the time, I would definitely recommend splitting this up in two days and then walk towards Kande or Ghandruk. You have to leave early in the morning (around 4 – 4.15 ) to walk up towards lower viewpoint for the sunrise and a beautiful view of the Annapurna range and Machapuchare. It takes about two hours to get there so you’ll be there just before sunrise. At lower viewpoint there might be someone boiling tea from the ice up there, so bring some money and get yourself something hot because it will be coooooold.

After soaking up the amazing views you have to make your way down to reach Sidhing in time. The altitude difference between lower viewpoint and Sidhing is about 2000m, so make sure you have your hiking poles ready, since you might as well start using them immediately to avoid early-on knee pain. The hike back is pretty straightforward as it will be the same hike as the way up. The only difference being that you’ll have to start makign your way down to Sidhing from Low Camp, instead of Forest Camp. From here to Sidhing is a pretty steep (but still beautiful!) trail. It will be tough and you’ll be tired, but you’ll see some nice guesthouses and farms. After arriving at Sidhing you will easily spot the jeep station, from which you can catch a (shared) jeep back to Pokhara. I think we paid around 8000 to go all the way back, which takes around 2-3 hours.

You’ll arrive back in Pokhara around 5/6/7 pm so you’ll have some time for a shower and some food, before going to bed and experiencing a week of sore muscles from hiking down 2000 meters. Yup, that’s what happened to me, which was not the best since I started my Yoga Teacher Training the next day.

Places to stay in Pokhara

There are many places to stay in Pokhara. I personally really enjoyed staying at Forest Lake Backpackers’ hostel and Pokhara Backpackers Hostel was also a nice place. I don’t have experiences with more expensive places, so you’ll have to look them up yourself 🙂 but there’s plenty about that on the internet!

I hope you enjoyed this 2023 guide to the Mardi Himal trek! If you have any recommendations for guides, accommodation or other things yourself, please leave them in the comment section for other people to find :).