The Mardi Himal Trek: Pokhara’s Secret Mountain Path

When people ask about trekking near Pokhara, the answers are almost always the same: Annapurna Circuit, Annapurna Base Camp, Poon Hill. These are magnificent routes and they are magnificent for reasons that have made them famous. They are also, depending on when you go, crowded in the way that famous things become crowded.

The Mardi Himal trek is different. It rises from the same Annapurna region, offers views of the same Himalayan giants — Machapuchare, Annapurna South, Hiunchuli — but follows a ridge route that until recently was barely known outside Nepal’s trekking community. I did this trek during my three-month stay in Pokhara in late 2022, and it remains one of the most beautiful trekking experiences I have had anywhere.

What the Mardi Himal Trek Is

The Mardi Himal trek follows a ridge east of the main Annapurna Base Camp trail, ascending through rhododendron forests to high camp at approximately 4,500 metres, with the summit of Mardi Himal (5,587 metres) as the endpoint for more experienced trekkers. Most people do the route as a 5–7 day return trek, using Pokhara as the base and either trekking out the same way or taking a different descent.

The defining characteristic is the ridge walk above the treeline. From approximately 3,500 metres, the route opens onto a narrow ridge with unobstructed views of the Annapurna massif to the west and the Mardi Himal to the north. Machapuchare — the “Fish Tail” mountain that is sacred to Nepali Hindus and has never been summited — dominates the view. Walking that ridge on a clear winter morning with the mountains turning from pink to gold in the early light is an experience that is genuinely difficult to describe adequately.

Pokhara as a Base

I spent over two months in Pokhara during the 2022–2023 stay. If you ask me what city in the world offers the best combination of cost of living, quality of life, natural beauty, and genuine tranquillity, Pokhara is the honest answer.

The city sits on Phewa Lake with the Annapurna range as its backdrop. Lakeside — the tourist and expat strip — has good cafés, bakeries, yoga studios, and guesthouses. Rent for a comfortable apartment runs to $200–300 a month. The food is exceptional: momos (Tibetan-origin dumplings), dal bhat (the national dish, unlimited refills at most places), fresh bakery goods from the Tibetan refugee community, and a growing international food scene.

But what makes Pokhara different from other beautiful places is the pace. The city does not hurry. Mornings on the lake are quiet. The mountains appear and disappear with the clouds. The tempo of the place is conducive to the kind of thinking and working and living that most cities make impossible.

The Trek Day by Day

The route typically begins at Kande (accessible by taxi from Pokhara), ascending through the Australian Camp area with its first views of the Annapurna range. The first two days pass through dense rhododendron forest — extraordinary in spring bloom, magnificent even in winter. The trail is well-marked and, unlike the main Annapurna circuits, encounters relatively few other trekkers.

Forest Camp, Low Camp, and High Camp mark the ascending nights. Each offers simple teahouse accommodation — basic but warm, with excellent dal bhat and strong chai. The teahouse culture of Nepal is one of the joys of trekking: you arrive, you eat, you talk to other trekkers from everywhere in the world, you sleep under extraordinary skies.

The final push to the viewpoint is made before dawn for clear mountain views before the afternoon clouds build. Standing at 4,200 metres with Machapuchare and the Annapurna range filling the sky from left to right is the payoff for everything that came before.

I Had Planned Manaslu — COVID Intervened

I had originally planned to do the Manaslu Circuit during this Nepal stay — a longer, more remote, more demanding route in the restricted Manaslu Conservation Area. COVID intervened two weeks before I was due to start. The Mardi Himal became the alternative.

I am grateful for the illness, in retrospect. The Mardi Himal is not a consolation prize. It is a different kind of excellent — shorter, more accessible, with that extraordinary ridge walk that the Manaslu Circuit cannot offer. I will do Manaslu. But Mardi Himal will stay in the list of the best things I have done.