6 days Mardi Himal Trek Departure and Cost for 2024

6-day Mardi Himal Trek is a short and stunning trekking in Annapurna. This is a less crowded tea house trek, famous for majestic views of Annapurna Base Camp, Mt Annapurna and Fishtail. If you are looking for off the beaten path trekking in Nepal, Mardi Himal Trek is an ideal trek. The hardest part of the trek is from high camp to Mardi Himal Base Camp. It is a tough 6 hour trek over rocky mountain terrain. Altitude and mountain sickness is not really a problem. Trekkers of all ages and fitness level can complete Mardi Himal Trek in 6 days. 

Mardi Himal Trek is newly open trek route which is more diverse. As you will trek through beautiful forest and villages.The highest point of the trek is the Mardi Himal Base Camp at 4500 m. A certain level of fitness is helpful to enjoy the trip. Some parts of the trek is quite steep and rocky. Mardi Himal is the best short trek from Pokhara and also a hidden gem in the Himalayas, just to the east of Annapurna base camp. 

Mardi Himal Trek Difficulty
The paths are mostly in good condition. No technical skills are required so the act of walking is pretty straightforward. The physical effort required, it clearly helps to be as fit as possible. Saying that, you don’t have to be an athlete, far from it. People of all ages and levels of fitness complete the Mardi Himal Trek. The key point to remember is to hike at your own pace.Over the course of the trek, you ascend in altitude from 700 m to 4600 m. Much of the route, particularly in the early days, involves plenty of up and down – descending to cross the river, ascending again, then repeating the process further along the trail.

Mardi Himal Trek Permit
For Mardi Himal Trek, you need two permits. TIMS card, the Trekkers information management card and the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACAP) permit are necessary, costs around USD 50. We will take care of your trek permit on your behalf once you book Annapurna Circuit Trek with us-The Mission Eco Trek & Expedition Pvt. Ltd. For this, we need your scanned passport copy and two passport size photos. TIMS card and permits are valid only for one entry to the park every time you exit you’ll have to get a new TIMS card and a new permit to enter the park again.

Mardi Himal Trek Accommodation
Along Mardi Himal Trek, accommodation is in guesthouses often called tea houses along the way.Rooms generally are more basic.Rooms have two single beds with pillows and blankets are always provided but a sleeping bag is a must.Things like hot showers and WIFI are getting more common, but you need to pay an extra cost.On this route, there are more shared rooms for 4-6 people than private room.

Toilets
There are most often shared toilet facilities rather than en-suite bathrooms on the Mardi Himal trek. These can be inside the main building or in an outhouse. It can be a western style toilet or a squat. Things tend to become more basic in places at higher altitude. You’ll need to have your own toilet paper, and soap isn’t always provided so make sure you have hand sanitizer too. Generally speaking, used toilet paper goes in a bin  next to the toilet. You flush the squat toilet by scooping water out of the nearby bucket with whatever receptacle is provided.

Dining Room
There’s always a dining room where meals are served, and it’s a good place to get to know your fellow trekkers. The higher you go, there will usually be a fire in the dining room around dinner time, although this is by no means guaranteed.

Hot Shower
Showers are available over the first few days, but chances for a hot shower limited the higher you go. Gas needs to be transported by mules and it’s more important for cooking and heating. It’s sometimes possible to get one for a fee, but you might be standing in a cold room under a spray with very little pressure. Best to be prepared to keep yourself clean with wet wipes.

Food on Mardi Himal Trek
The food is often quite good.Food and drink on the Mardi Himal trek is similar to what you find on Nepal’s other treks, although options are usually more varieties The options become even more limited throughout the trek as altitude increases, while prices go up as the cost of fuel and transporting goods gets higher.You have to eat dinner and breakfast at the tea houses you stay. Lunch will generally be at a different place somewhere along the trail unless it’s a short day and you arrive at your destination earlier.Try to order the same as the people you’re trekking with. Your food will usually arrive more quickly and less fuel will be needed to cook it.Think carefully before ordering meat. Refrigeration, storage and kitchen standards mean that eating veggie is the safest option.

Dal Bhat
Dal Bhat is a combination of dal (lentils), veg curry, pickle, rice and vegetables, this staple of the Nepali diet is a great option. It comes with a guaranteed refill of rice and curry, and usually some extra dal too. The vegetable component varies depending on what or if there’s anything growing in the garden (and it pretty much disappears the last few days before the Larke Pass). Dal Bhat is what all guides and porters eat so it’s constantly being prepared, unlike more western style dishes which always have to be made to order. And as the whole cooking process requires less energy, this means that it’s better for the environment too.

Breakfast
Breakfast include porridge, pancakes, omelettes, boiled eggs, and various breads (Tibetan bread, buckwheat bread, chapatis, and so on).

Main Dishes for Lunch and Dinner
Standard dishes on menus are soups, pasta dishes, various fried rice dishes, momos, a kind of dumpling, pizzas, and of course, Dal Bhat. Some dishes have meat options but this is something to be wary of. Lots of dishes have egg and some tuna from a can. 

Drinks
Hot drinks are on the menu at every guesthouse, with an often huge range of options stretching from regular black tea and coffee to masala tea, lemon ginger honey tea, and hot chocolate, bottle of water, beer, whisky for an extra cost. 

Mardi Himal Trek Cost
Mardi Himal Trek package costs ranges from USD 450 to USD 850 and includes all transfers, accommodation, meals, permits, and even the hotel stay before and after the trek.

Internet, Wifi, Sim cards and staying Charged 
If you’re looking to stay connected while trekking in the Mardi Himal, the options are fairly limited.

Wifi: 
Wifi is available in the tea houses along the trail. There is however normally a charge for using the internet,WiFi and with slow speeds, you may end up wishing you hadn’t bothered. If there’s nothing urgent, our advice would be to wait until you get back from the mountains. Costs anywhere from $4 to $6 to use wifi at the guesthouses. 

Sim Cards
4G sim cards and packages can be bought at the airport, or from numerous vendors in the Thamel area of Kathmandu. They’re great in the city but as soon as you leave the coverage is patchy. We recommend Nepal Telecom and Ncell for 3G/4G coverage. It’s safe to say that in the mountains, neither are really any good. 

Electricity: 
There are electricity available along the trail to charge your power banks, cameras, and phones. The key is to get a fat power bank. Pay to charge that then charge everything from your power bank.Your power bank lets you charge your phone and camera batteries. Most of the places you stay let you charge your gear for an extra cost.

Best time trekking Mardi Himal
The best time to go trekking in Mardi Himal is Spring, Autumn and Winter.March/April and October/November is the peak hiking season in Nepal due to best weather conditions as the result all trekking routes get very busy.

Autumn-Trekking
September, October and November are the most popular months for trekking in Mardi Himal. Autumn brings clear blue skies and mild temperatures before the cold sets in in December.Autumn is also a festive season with the celebration of Dashain and Tihar. Nepal’s biggest festivals.The weather is generally dry and clear, with warm sunny days and excellent visibility. Regardless of the seasons, the weather conditions can change rapidly and there is always a chance of unstable weather, cold and snow storms. It is important to check the weather forecast. 

Spring-Trekking
The spring season from March to May is considered to be the next best option. The weather is generally clear although a little colder. Mornings are sunny and flowers are in bloom. There is however a higher chance of rain, or even snow, and melting ice increases the chances of landslides or avalanches.

Summer-Trekking
June, July and August are the monsoon months.There is a lot of rain falls, the roads and trails get very muddy not nice weather for hiking in the Mardi Himal.  The Marsyangdi valley up to Manang sees lots of rainfalls.The monsoon is responsible for warm and wet weather, with cloud and mist making visibility extremely poor. You can hardly see a mountain. Leeches are a big problem at this time of year, as is the risk of landslides. 

Winter-Trekking
January and February are too cold with lots of snow on the trail.There are very few people on the routes like Mardi Himal where there are no local villages it might be difficult to find accommodation and food because the places are closed for off season.

Insurance for Mardi Himal Trek
Travel insurance is highly recommended for Mardi Himal Trek because the high altitude can lead to many illnesses, weakness in trekkers, and misjudgments. There is also a risk on trails for falls, avalanches, or other mishaps. When selecting a travel insurance policy please bear in mind that all clients must have medical coverage and that we require a minimum coverage of USD 200,000 for repatriation and emergency rescue. We strongly recommend that the policy also covers personal liability, cancellation, curtailment and loss of luggage and personal effects.