Ridge walking above the cloud to a 4,500 m viewpoint below Machhapuchhre
In short
Mardi Himal only opened as a teahouse route in 2012, and it still feels like it. The trail runs along a single ridge between the Modi Khola and Mardi Khola valleys, which means that from Low Camp upward you are walking on a spine with drop-offs on both sides and Machhapuchhre filling the view ahead. Above 3,300 m the forest stops and the ridge becomes open grass and rock. The Upper View Point at 4,500 m looks straight into the Annapurna range with the fishtail summit close enough to pick out its ice flutings. The catch is capacity. High Camp has four lodges and Low Camp about six, all small, and in late October and April they are full by early afternoon. We pre-book, but bunk-room nights are still possible. Water at High Camp is carried up, and it is charged accordingly.
Permits arranged for you
Mardi Himal Upper View Point, 4,500 m is the high point of this route. Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP), NPR 3,000 (about USD 22), TIMS card, NPR 2,000 (about USD 15). We file these on your behalf; the cost is inside your package price unless the exclusions say otherwise.
Where you sleep each night, day one to day 7. This is the chart worth reading before the itinerary — it is what determines whether you enjoy the trek.
7 days planned in full. Drive times and walking hours are stated so you can judge the pace before you book.
Day 1
Phewa Lake ·World Peace Pagoda
Day 2
Australian Camp ·Pothana
Day 3
Rhododendron forest ·Machhapuchhre viewpoint
Day 4
Middle Camp ·Mardi ridge
Day 5
Mardi Himal Upper View Point ·Lower View Point
Day 6
Sidhing village
Day 7
Small group, maximum 8 — private departures suit couples. Seat counts are live at the last catalogue update; we confirm availability in writing before taking any payment.
Departs Pokhara
Available8 left
Departs Pokhara
Last few seats3 left
Departs Pokhara
Filling fast6 left
Departs Pokhara
Available8 left
Departs Pokhara
Filling fast4 left
Departs Pokhara
Available8 left
Yes, on two counts. The Upper View Point day climbs 920 m and descends the same before lunch, and you sleep at 3,580 m rather than 2,874 m. There is also a short rope-assisted rocky step above the Lower View Point. It is still a Moderate trek with no technical skills required, just a longer, steeper summit morning.
We pre-book from the day you confirm, so you will have a room. What we cannot always promise is a private twin — in the last two weeks of October and the first three of April the four High Camp lodges sometimes convert twins to shared bunk rooms. Booking eight weeks ahead materially improves the odds.
Because the ridge is quiet, the days are short enough to leave afternoons free, and High Camp on a clear night has no artificial light within an hour's walk. It is not a luxury product — the lodges are plywood and the toilets are shared. What it offers is time and space rather than comfort.
The Upper View Point at 4,500 m is the standard turnaround and is what this itinerary includes. Continuing toward the base camp proper at about 4,780 m adds two to three hours of exposed ridge on loose ground and is only advisable in settled weather with a guide who has checked conditions. We decide it on the morning.
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