Poon Hill – Mardi Himal Trek

You will arrive at the international airport in Kathmandu, Nepal- Tribhuvan International Airport. Our representatives from The Great Adventure Treks will meet you outside the airport terminal. They will then help you to transfer to your hotel. You can also find all the relevant information about the hotel you will be staying with your guide. The guide will also brief you about your trek as well as other related information about the trek.

You will head out to the awesome valley of the Pokhara. You will head out to the touristic paradise called Pokhara on a 6-7 hour bus drive from Kathmandu. This bus ride is scenic as you get to see some lovely hills along the way. And in between the hills, there are gushing rivers that flow. These rivers flow out of the Himalayas. You can also have the first glimpses of mountains although they are quite far.

Today, there will be a mixture of a bus drive and a trek. First, you will head out to Nayapul (1070 meters). This ride is quite pleasant and lasts 2 hours only. Nayapul is also where many trekkers gather to trek. This is the entry point to many other treks like Annapurna Base Camp Trek, Khopra Danda Trek, Mardi Himal trek and plenty other in this region. After that, you will go to Ulleri on a 4-5 hours trek.

You will head out to the place with the largest rhododendron forests today. This place is called Ghorepani. It will take about 6-7 hours, for you to reach Ghorepani(2860 meters). The first part of your trek will take you along an uphill ride to Ulleri. The walk up to Ulleri is around 2 hours long and exclusively uphill. From Ulleri, you will walk around 4 hours or so to get to Ghorepani. Ghorepani is set beautifully amidst the mountains of the Annapurna region. It also has close access to Poon Hill, which is an awesome hill station in the Annapurna region.

Today, you will wake up early in the morning, This is because you will head out to Poon Hill before the sun is up. You will trek around 1 hour or so before you reach Poon Hill(3210 meters). The trail to Poon Hill is almost elusively full of stairs. After you reach there, you will get to see glorious views of mountains like Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, Machhapuchhre etc. You will also get to see some staggering sunrise views from there.

Today’s walk from Ghandruk to Landruk (1565 meters) is 5-6 hours long. The walk initially leads through some beautiful forests of the ACAP region. You will also get to see the Annapurna mountain range occasionally along the way. The vegetation becomes very verdant and the environment very peaceful and isolated. All the while, the Annapurna Mountains loom down against the skyline. Eventually, you will reach Ghandruk. From here, another small village is passed, called Phedi, and crossing the Modi River, the small village of Landruk is finally reached. Overnight stay at the guesthouse at Landruk, breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Our trail passes through lush forest dotted with the red rhododendrons. The flowers are a common sight in Nepalese hills and it is no surprise that its Nepal’s national flower. Our trail is very quiet until we reach a clearing of the forest camp. We can take rest and explore the area which is also known locally as Kokar. Overnight in Forest Camp.

We continue to walk through dense forests admiring Nepal’s rich biodiversity and reach the low camp. From here, the fantastic view of Mt. Machapuchhre (Mt. Fishtail) up the valley is mesmerizing. We can spend some time in the evening observing the local lifestyle. Overnight in Badal Dada.

We trek uphill alongside a ridge towards Mardi Himal and Macchhapuchhre. The tree lines start getting thinner and the area mostly consists of shrubs with isolated rhododendron bushes along the trail. If lucky, we might even come across the Daphne pheasant (national bird of Nepal) on our way to high camp. We ascend up to the high camp, which the final destination of the day. From here the mountain views are stunning. Overnight in high camp.

On our trek to the upper viewpoint we ascend and descend, and sometimes on a steep and narrow trail. Our trail passes through pastures and we hike along a narrow ridge before reaching the Upper Viewpoint. The view of the Himalayan vista from here is astonishing. We see Mardi Himal (5587m), Annapurna I (8091m), Annapurna south (7219m), Hiunchuli (6441m), Baraha Shikhar (Mt. Fang) (7647m), Tent Peak (5695m), Singhachuli (6501m), Machapuchhre (6993m) and others. We trek back to the Badal Dada for an overnight stay.

We will follow the steep descent trail and arrive at the low camp in just 45 minutes. After trekking for approximately 4-5 hours, we will reach the village of Sidhing. Following a 2-hour jeep drive from Sidhing, we will returnto Pokhara. Overnight at Pokhara.

On this day, you will drive back to Kathmandu from Pokhara. 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 ride of 6-7 hours from Pokhara, you will reach Kathmandu. You can go for some last minute shopping in Thamel to buy some souvenirs or other items you might need. We will also organize a farewell dinner for you for a successful completion of your trek.