Mardi Himal Peak Climbing

Welcome to Nepal! Upon your arrival, our representative will greet you at Tribhuvan International Airport and transport you to the finest hotel at Thamel. After some rest at the hotel, you’ll join our team meet-up in the office. During this program, you will meet and greet with your guide and other trekkers. In the evening, you can stroll around the main tourist area of Kathmandu.

After breakfast, you’ll go for a half day sightseeing tour around Kathmandu valley. You’ll visit Pashupatinath Temple on the bank of the Bagmati river. In addition, you can also visit Swayambhunath Temple, a famous Monkey Temple, and Boudhanath. On the way back to your hotel, you’ll also visit Kathmandu Durbar Square, a place that holds the history of the valley. In the evening, you’ll get plenty of time for trek preparations. If you’ve missed anything, then you can do short shopping at Thamel or Durbar Marg. Overnight stay at Kathmandu, you will prepare the official documents such as climbing permit.

Next day, you will set out to Pokhara on a bus after having a breakfast in your hotel. The route of the bus takes you along the beautiful, scenic hills along with sights of Trisuli and Marsyangdi River. It is also possible for you to catch views of Ganesh Himal and the Manaslu peak during this bus ride. After a bus ride of 6-7 hours from Kathmandu, you will reach Pokhara. Pokhara is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Nepal. It is a paradise for tourists. This is mainly due to its wonderful landscape, touristic vibe, and its clean, green environment. After you reach Pokhara, you can stroll around the city or spend some quality time in the lakeside.

We make an early start for the 6-hour drive to Pokhara, Nepal’s second largest town some 198 km to the west. Stopping at the village of Hyenja, we then set off on foot, along the bank of the Mardi Khola which is soon crossed via a rope bridge. We then follow the Seti Kola, through farmed terraces to the village of Gyachok, where we camp for the night. Good views of Machhapuchhre and Mardi Himal.

After breakfast we walk through the village with its beautifully built houses and dry stonewalls, and friendly villagers. As we climb higher through the paddy field terraces, the much busier villages on the opposite side of the valley become visible. A good track contours along the hillside to Dhiprang and later we reach a super lunch spot by the river. We then pass two more villages, Mirsa and Kaduwa, which are the last settlements we will see until our return trek. The day finishes with a steep climb to the pastureland of Sano Khoban, where we camp.

The trail continues steeply, now through forest. The only clearing in the forest is about 1 ½ hours from Sano Khoban, so we may well stop for an early lunch. Then it is a long up-hill struggle through dense forest until we reach 2,900m, where we break out into the open air. A very steep ridge then leads to the small lake at Pipa.

Yesterday was a long day and we ascended 1,500m, so today is a welcome rest day, this also helps us to acclimatize to the altitude. There is a stream suitable for washing about 20 minutes from the campsite.

We continue up the ridge line, with fantastic views stretching from the Manaslu group in the east, across the Annapurna to Dhaulagiri in the far west. Eventually we arrive at the pleasant grazing area of Thulo Kharka.

This is a short day and the whole route to base camp is visible from Thulo Kharka. It takes about 2 hours to reach it, where it sits in the obvious valley, which descends between the south and southeast ridges of Mardi Himal.

Another important acclimatization day. It is best to rest during this period rather than try and do too much – there will be plenty of opportunity for exertion later! It would be like refueling your strength to continue the rest of the trekking. It is always wisely suggested to acclimatize on this day and enjoy a rest, it will give you an opportunity to explore the trail closely.

It takes about 2 hours to reach the high camp, our take-off point for the summit. First we climb straight up for 200m then traverse around the south-east ridge. A steady climb on rocks and perhaps some snow then leads to the camp site. This is in a good sheltered location but water is scarce and may involve melting snow. Make sure your water bottles are full at the beginning of the day!

With 900m of ascent before us, we need to make a very early start to ensure success. The first part of the climb is the couloir leading to the East Col (5,400m), between Mardi Himal and Machhapuchare. The base of the couloir is at 4,950m, where we will most likely need to put on crampons. The couloir is a very long snow climb, not steep, but it is sustained and tiring, and it will take about 4 hours to reach the col.

On the col it will probably be quite windy (unless we are very lucky), but it is only an hour or so to the top, up a pleasant snow ridge. Once on the summit, we can rest and enjoy being on a Nepalese summit in the midst of the Himalaya. After taking photos and perhaps having a bite to eat, we descend to the high camp and then continue to base camp for a good meal.

We take a different route back to Pokhara which stays high up on ridges to allow us to enjoy the views for longer. From base camp we traverse the south ridge to reach a col at 4,280m. We then stay up on the ridge, following it with wonderful views, to Korchon where we camp.

The ridge line continues to Odane Hill. The descent is steep and awkward, being on tussock grass with hidden holes, so care is needed. However, the trail is marked and eventually the grass gives way to forest. Soon after we reach the col below Odane Hill, which is a good view point. Following the ridge line south, we emerge out of the forest above Riban. This is our last evening on trek so it is usual to sample the local brew and have a sing-song with the Sherpas – they are always happiest when the hard work is over!

The final part of the trek is a lovely walk through Riban and on to Lachock. We cross the Mardi Khola and Mardi Pul which is an excellent lunch spot. Then it’s a short walk to Hyenja where we are met by our bus whisks us to the luxury of the Fish Tail Lodge, on of Nepal’s most celebrated hotels. It’s buildings sprawl across a small island in Pewa Tal, the picturesque lake beside Pokhara. From here we can look back towards Machhapuchare and Mardi Himal, while sitting on the terrace drinking beer!

Today we fly back from Pokhara to Kathmandu and the Hotel, where we can celebrate the success of our expedition in fine style.

Give a good rest to your tired bones, wander around Kathmandu city and give a good look to the city and people of Kathmandu before you say goodbye to this beautiful country.You can possibly go for shopping souvenir. Walk around the the Thamel street and there will be a farewell dinner to celebrate the successful completion of Mardi Himal Trek.

The Great Adventure Treks will help you transfer you to Tribhuvan International airport. You can catch your flight back home in this airport. The representatives from The Great Adventure Treks will drop you at the airport in a private transport. You will get to the airport approximately 3 hours before the scheduled flight. You need to secure your confirmed air ticket as well as necessary travel documents. We are sure that you will be inspired to visit Nepal again after this trek. We hope that you choose us to plan your next trip to Nepal. Don’t hesitate to write to us if you want to be a part of another tour in Nepal.