Mardi Himal Trek Review 2026 | Ocean Vertical Expedition Report

My phone alarm erupts with several loud bleeps; I'd foolishly left it under my pillow the night before. I grab it quickly and kill the noise before it wakes the whole tea house. It's 5am. I'm at High Camp on the Mardi Himal trek, 3,550 metres above sea level, our final stopping point before the push to Mardi Himal Base Camp the following morning. Four days of trekking have brought us here.

I heard the weather before I saw it. Wind was whistling through the roof of the building and cold sleet slapped against the thin, single-glazed window of my room. I pulled the curtain aside and peered out into the pre-dawn dark. The cloud was sitting low and heavy, visibility severely reduced. Sleet was pouring from the sky, not quite rain, not quite snow, but a hundred metres higher up the mountain, I knew it would be falling as thick, wet snow.

Somewhere in the tea house, eleven clients were beginning to stir. So too were my fellow trek leader and business partner Stevie, our two Nepali guides, and thirteen trekking assistants. They would all be hoping to lace up their boots and head up the ridgeline to the Mardi Himal Viewpoint at 4,200m, and then onward to Base Camp at 4,500m, where I had promised them a panoramic sweep of the Annapurna range and a life-affirming sunrise to mark the hard-earned high point of the expedition.

With sleet hammering at my window, I knew that wasn't on the cards this morning.

Stevie and I would need to fall back on the thing our clients had actually hired us for, not summits or sunrises, but calm, educated, sensible decision-making. The ability to not be swayed by commercial pressure or a narrow idea of what a "successful" trek looks like. Their safety, and their trust, came before any of that. I knocked on Stevie's door. He was already awake and dressed in full Gore-Tex, heading outside to assess the conditions himself. We had decisions to make, and plans B, C and D ready to go.

$Ali B, 2026 Mardi Himal Expedition Team Member on the trail$

The Expedition at a Glance

Annapurna Region · Nepal

Duration	8-day trek / 14 days total
Region	Annapurna, Nepal
High Point	Mardi Himal Base Camp, 4,500m
Total Distance	76km over 8 days
Trek Style	Teahouse
Group Size	Up to 14 clients

Mardi Himal sits in the heart of the Annapurna region, and in our view, it offers something the more famous Annapurna Base Camp trek simply cannot: fewer crowds, more dramatic views, and less objective danger from surrounding mountains. We'd take Mardi Himal every time.

The route up follows the established Mardi Himal trail, a well-constructed, achievable ascent. I built our itinerary around a careful acclimatisation schedule that gives every member of the group the best possible chance of reaching their objective, be it viewpoint (4,200m) or Base Camp (4,500m), comfortably and safely. But it's the descent that transforms this from a great trek into something more memorable.

Rather than retracing our steps, we leave the beaten track entirely and drop down through a quiet, less visited valley that feels a world away from the main trekking routes. Terraced farmland, traditional villages, curious livestock and genuinely warm encounters with local communities replace the usual parade of teahouses and tourist trail. Here we get a real, unhurried sense of what life looks like for the families who have called these steep hillsides, deep valleys and extraordinary mountain vistas home for generations.

It is, without question, my favourite trek in the Annapurna region and the one I find myself returning to time and time again with clients.

The Route & Terrain

14 days · Kathmandu to Kathmandu

The expedition begins long before we set foot on a trail. Day one is Kathmandu: sensory overload in the best possible way. The noise, the colour, the smell of incense and street food, the sheer density of life. Day two we explore Boudhanath Stupa and Thamel, with time for kit checks and last-minute shopping.

On day three we board a small plane for the 30-minute flight to Pokhara, and if the clouds are kind, the Himalayan panorama from the window is worth the trip alone. Pokhara is where we meet our guides from 3 Sisters Adventure Trekking, and where the real briefing begins.

Day 4 Trek begins at Khare, an intentionally short warm-up hike with plenty of ascent to let legs and lungs begin adjusting. We arrive at Thulo Kharka (1,950m) by early afternoon, and there is usually a collective realisation that teahouse living, simple rooms, communal meals and limited showers, suits people rather well.
Day 5 Deep into forest. Oak, birch, rhododendron and hemlock close in around the trail, mountain views coming and going through breaks in the canopy. A longer day, and by Forest Camp at 2,550m the group is beginning to find its stride.
Day 6 Short in distance but significant in altitude: 5km with 900m of ascent to Lower Camp at 3,400m. The forest thins, the air cools noticeably, and the scale of what lies ahead starts to reveal itself.
Day 7 The treeline is left behind entirely. The trail opens onto high alpine meadow, grazing sheep dot the hillside, and the Annapurna range fills the horizon properly for the first time. We push to High Camp at 3,550m, our last overnight stop.
Day 8 The one everyone has been building towards. The push to Mardi Himal Base Camp at 4,500m, where on a clear morning Dhaulagiri, Annapurna I and the sacred unclimbed fin of Machhapuchhare fill the horizon in every direction. There is a particular kind of tired that follows a day like that. The good kind.
Days 9–11 The descent transforms the trip. Rather than retracing our steps, 1,500m down to the banks of the Mardi River at 1,350m, then winding through traditional villages, terraced fields worked by hand, buffalo, goats, chickens and unhurried rural life. 76km completed. Back to Pokhara.
Days 12–14 Rest day by Pokhara lake, well-earned and always slightly emotional. Final night in Kathmandu, last-minute shopping, and an emotional goodbye to new friends, with a unanimous "we must come back again."