Mardi Himal
lies to the East of the Annapurna Sanctuary high on the ridge below
Machapucharae, overlooking the Machapucharae Base Camp and the Annapurna BaseCamp on the left side and the city of Pokhara and the villages of Ghandruk,
Chomroong and the valley below on the
right. Mardi Himal Trek is a popular short trek in Nepal and can be completed
in a period of just four or five days. This
short trek in Nepal can be undertaken by begineers and can be termed as a easy villages trek in Nepal.
The Mardi Himal Trek an easy lodge trek in Nepal
starts with a drive to Pokhara from Kathmandu. There are a couple of options to
travel to Pokhara from Kathmandu. One can take a luxury tourist bus. These
buses starts leaving for Pokhara from 5am to 9am in the morning and costs
US$25-US$27 per person, the cost is inclusive of lunch at Kurintar about 90Km
from Kathmandu. If you are on a budget than you could board a share taxi, a ten
seater Toyota van that operates the entire day and costs about US$8 per person.
One can also hire a small car or an SUV
they cost about US$210 per SUV/Car and can comfortably seat about four to five
persons. Depending upon the condition of the traffic on the highway it takes
about six to seven hours to reach Pokhara from Kathmandu.
Usually
trekkers spend a day or two in Pokhara , a lake side town famous for it’s lake
know locally as the Phewa Tal. This helps in acclimitization for the treks in
the Annapurna Himal. For an experienced trekker one could try the Annapurna Base Camp Trek or the Ghorepani Poonhill Trek or if you have three weeks to
spare than the Annapurna Circuit Trek is there for one to try. Of late the Annapurna Circuit Trek can be reduced by a
number of days by driving upto Tal and starting the trek from there and flying
out to Pokhara or Kathmandu from Jomsom. This will reduce the number of days by
about five to six days and the Annapurna Circuit Trek can be completed within
twelve days.
Coming back
to Mardi Himal Trek, this is an easy villages trek with ample time to enjoy an
extra day or two in Pokhara. There are small lodges operated by local
families all along the trekking trail and these lodges provide good local food
at a nominal amount. When it comes to cost factor, the Annapurna Region is less
expensive as compared to the Everest Region of Nepal. Basic food is Dal Bhat
and Vegetable curry, though other types of food are also prepared on demand. Accommodation
is available till High Camp but of late a couple of lodges are being built at
High Camp and the Mardi Base Camp.
A Brief
Itinerary for the Mardi Himal Trek in Nepal
Day 1 : Drive to Pokhara. The Drive takes
about five to six hours depending on the traffic.
The drive to
Pokhara takes about six to seven hours depending upon the traffic and with a
halt in between for lunch.
Day 2 : Drive to Kande ( 1770m/60minutes
drive ). This is the trek head for the Mardi Himal Trek. Trek to Pothana(1980m).
The gentle
three hours Trek begins through small agricultural villages until we reach the
small village of Goldanda on a hill side. From this small village the trekking
track becomes an uphill trek on stone steps through dense forest until we reach Australian Camp(2160m). Australian Camp is
small settlement on a hilltop with a few lodges and a camp site. There is an
ACAP office here and one is required the stamp the permit here. From here it is all the way downhill of
fifteen minutes to Pothana. There are afew Lodges and restaurants here catering
to the tourists.
Day 3: Trek to Forest Camp(2900m).
The Trek to
Forest Camp the second day of the trek is an easy four hours trek through dense
forest of Rhododendron, Oak and walnut trees. Thirty minutes out of Pothana is
a small settlement of Deurali, the trek route to Mardi Himal bifurcates here.
To the right is Mardi Himal and the trek route to the left leads to Tolka, Lhandruk and finally to
Annapurna Sanctuary and to the Annapurna Base Camp. There are no other trek
routes on this path to get lost, moreover at an interval of every ten minutes
or so there are markers leading to the Mardi Base Camp. Look around at the face
of the boulders or trees blue and red markings are painted on them, follow the markers
and one will not do not get lost.
There are no
mountain scenery to cherish as the views are all blocked by the dense forest
till Forest Camp. Three hours out of Pothana there is oneTea shop where one can
order some lunch. This tea house if very basic and the best that you can have
is some noddle soup and Dal Bhat. Forest Camp is a collection of about six
lodges in the middle of the forest with no mountain views. The Lodges offer
free wifi to pull in customers.
Day 4: Trek to High Camp(3550m).
The Trek
route to high Camp starts immediately with an uphill two and half hour trek
through dense forest till low camp. Low Camp at an altitude of 3100m consists
of about ten lodges sitting on a ridge in the middle of the forest and first
views of Machapucharae towering on the Northern horizon is quite impressive.
The Trek route after lunch is also through forest for a short while when
suddenly we climb on to a ridge and the forest cover vanishes providing views
of the Annapurna range, a sight to remember. High camp is truly on a ridge
overlooking the Machapucharae Base Camp and a narrow trail in the valley below
that leads to Annapurna Base Camp on the left and the small villages and the
town of Pokhara on the right.
Day 5: Trek to Mardi Base Camp(4500m).
Early morning
trek to Upper View point(4300m) for sunrise views on the Mardi Himal. Great
views of the Machapucharae Base Camp and
Machapucharae and the surrounding villages down below. Trek further on
to Mardi Base Camp. Trek Back to High Camp for lunch. After lunch trek down to
Badal Dara(3300m).
Day 6: Trek back to Sidding. Drive back to
Pokhara.
After
Breakfast trek down to Sidding for the last part of the trek through low camp.
The path is very uneven and rocky all the way to Sidding(1700m).
Day 7: Drive Back to Kathmandu. End of Mardi
Himal Trek.
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