Plenty of people land in Nepal with a week, maybe ten days, and assume the high Himalaya is out of reach. The big-name treks take two weeks or more, and the travel days, permits and acclimatisation days add up fast.
More of them are now choosing Mardi Himal. It’s a ridge trek that starts and ends in Pokhara, climbs through rhododendron forest onto open alpine ground, and puts you on a 4,200 m viewpoint beneath Machhapuchhre, the famous fishtail mountain, in five days.
Photo: MardiHimal.com
Mardi Himal at a Glance
| Fact | Figure |
| Start and finish | Pokhara |
| Standard length | 5 days, 4 nights on the trail |
| Walking distance | About 46 km |
| Highest point | Upper Viewpoint, 4,200 m |
| Walking time | 4 to 7 hours a day |
| Accommodation | Basic ridge tea houses |
| Permits | ACAP and TIMS card |
| Price from | USD 294 per person (group of 11 to 20) |
| Foreign trekkers in 2025 | 16,410 |
No technical climbing is involved. The trek tops out at a viewpoint, not the summit of Mardi Himal itself, so there’s no climbing permit, no ropes and no special gear.
Who’s Walking It: The Check-In Numbers
Trail check-in records for foreign trekkers show how quickly word has spread.
| Year | Foreign trekkers checked in |
| 2023 | 6,896 |
| 2024 | 15,893 |
| 2025 | 16,410 |
Indian numbers grew fastest of the six, from 319 trekkers in 2023 to 1,152 in 2025, more than three and a half times as many.
Women make up almost half the trail. Across the three years, the records count 20,319 men and 18,867 women, a split of roughly 52 to 48.
The Trail, Day by Day
| Day | Route | Distance | Walking time | Altitude |
| 1 | Pokhara to Kande by road, then Australian Camp and Pitam Deurali | About 9 km | 5 to 6 hrs, plus a 1.5 hr drive | 1,770 m to 2,100 m |
| 2 | Pitam Deurali to Forest Camp, Rest Camp and Low Camp | About 12 km | 6 to 7 hrs | 2,100 m to 2,985 m |
| 3 | Low Camp to High Camp via Badal Danda | About 6 km | 4 to 5 hrs | 2,985 m to 3,580 m |
| 4 | Dawn climb to the Upper Viewpoint, then down to Badal Danda | About 10 km | 6 to 7 hrs | 3,580 m to 4,200 m to 3,210 m |
| 5 | Badal Danda to Sidhing, then jeep to Pokhara | About 9 km | 4 to 5 hrs, plus a 2.5 to 3 hr drive | 3,210 m to 820 m |
Day 1: Kande, Australian Camp and Pitam Deurali
Photo: MardiHimal.com
From Pokhara it’s a 1 to 1.5 hour drive to the trailhead at Kande (1,770 m). Stone steps climb to Australian Camp at 2,060 m, where the first wide view of Annapurna South and Hiunchuli opens up and your conservation area permit is checked. The day ends at Pitam Deurali (2,100 m), the junction where the Mardi route leaves the busier Annapurna Base Camp path and turns onto its own quiet ridge.
Day 2: Forest Camp to Low Camp
Photo: MardiHimal.com
This is the longest day, with 885 m of climbing. The trail runs through deep oak and rhododendron forest past Forest Camp (2,550 m) and Rest Camp to Low Camp at 2,985 m, right at the treeline, where the snow peaks finally open up.
Day 3: Low Camp to High Camp
Photo: MardiHimal.com
A shorter day on paper, but the altitude starts to matter. Above Low Camp the last trees give way to open ridge at Badal Danda, Cloud Ridge, at 3,210 m, then the path climbs steadily to High Camp at 3,580 m. A good guide keeps the pace deliberately slow here and holds anyone with early altitude symptoms at High Camp rather than pushing on.
Day 4: The Upper Viewpoint
Photo: MardiHimal.com
The summit morning. You leave High Camp before dawn and climb 620 m to the Upper Viewpoint at 4,200 m, then walk 990 m back down to sleep at Badal Danda. Mardi Himal Base Camp, at 4,500 m, lies further on and is a separate, longer objective. Standard itineraries turn around at the viewpoint.
Day 5: Down to Sidhing and Back to Pokhara
Photo: MardiHimal.com
The last day drops 2,390 m, through terraced farmland to Sidhing (1,860 m), a working Gurung village where the trek ends. A local jeep takes 2.5 to 3 hours back to Pokhara at 820 m. That’s a lot of downhill for the knees, so bring trekking poles.
Mardi Himal vs Poon Hill vs Annapurna Base Camp
| Mardi Himal | Poon Hill | Annapurna Base Camp | |
| Length from Pokhara | 3 to 8 days | 3 to 5 days | 7 to 11 days |
| Highest point | 4,200 m | 3,210 m | 4,130 m |
| Difficulty | Moderate, steep ridge | Easy to moderate | Moderate, long with many stairs |
| Crowds | Quieter | One of Nepal’s busiest short treks | Busy in peak season |
| Accommodation | Basic ridge tea houses | Village lodges in Ghorepani and Ghandruk | More developed lodges |
Poon Hill is the gentler option and Annapurna Base Camp takes roughly twice as long. Mardi Himal goes highest of the three, still fits in under a week, and gives the closest views of Machhapuchhre.
3, 5 or 6 Days?
| 3 days | 5 days | 6 days | |
| Walking hours a day | 7 to 9 | 4 to 7 | 4 to 6 |
| Nights on the trail | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| Acclimatisation buffer | Minimal | Adequate | Comfortable |
| Price from (per person) | USD 220 | USD 294 | USD 354 |
| Best for | Fit, short on time, altitude experience | Most trekkers | First-timers, families, slow acclimatisers |
All three reach the 4,200 m viewpoint. The difference is how hard each day is. The 5-day Mardi Himal trek is the version most trekkers book, because it fits inside a working week and reaches the same viewpoint without cramming the climb into two long days the way the 3-day version does. If it’s your first time above 3,000 m, the 6-day version spreads the same route out further.
What It Costs
| Group size | 5-day price per person |
| 1 person (private) | USD 508 |
| 2 people | USD 380 |
| 3 to 5 people | USD 336 |
| 6 to 10 people | USD 315 |
| 11 to 20 people | USD 294 |
Every rate includes breakfast, lunch and dinner on the trail, and the permits are arranged for you and included in the price. For reference, this is what they cost:
| Permit | Foreign nationals | SAARC nationals |
| ACAP (Annapurna Conservation Area Permit) | NPR 3,000 | NPR 1,000 |
| TIMS card | NPR 2,000 | NPR 1,000 |
The TIMS card is issued only through a registered agency, which is one reason most people book the trek rather than arrange it alone.
Before You Go
- Pick your window. October to November and March to April carry almost all the traffic. Go at the edges of those months for a quieter trail.
- Respect Day 2 and Day 4. Day 2 climbs 885 m. Day 4 climbs 620 m before dawn and then descends 990 m.
- Carry cash in rupees. Payments on the trail are cash in NPR only.
- Bring poles. The final day descends 2,390 m.
Five days from Pokhara to 4,200 m and back is hard to match on a short trip. For weather by month, camp-by-camp guides and every itinerary from 3 to 8 days, MardiHimal.com covers the trek in depth.
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