Mardi Himal & ABC Combined Trek

Most trekkers reach Pokhara by the morning flight from Kathmandu or the tourist bus along the Prithvi Highway. We meet you at the lakeside, run the trip briefing, check your kit against the packing list, and settle the route plan for the two weeks ahead.

The afternoon is free to rest, hire any missing gear, and walk the Phewa Lake shore. An early night sets you up for the first trailhead drive in the morning.

We drive to the Kande trailhead and start up the stone steps to Australian Camp, where the first wide view of Annapurna South and Hiunchuli opens up. The trail runs on through Pothana, where the ACAP permit is checked, and up to Pitam Deurali at 2,100 m, the junction where the Mardi route leaves the busier Annapurna Base Camp path and turns up its own quiet ridge.

The afternoon climbs through cloud forest of oak, maple, and rhododendron to Forest Camp at 2,550 m. Langur troops are common in the canopy on this stretch. We overnight in a simple but warm teahouse and rest before the altitude day.

The first big altitude day. The trail climbs steadily through the upper forest to Low Camp at 2,985 m, where the trees thin and the full Annapurna massif comes into view. We stop here for an early lunch and a pulse-oximetry check before continuing.

Above Low Camp the route breaks onto the open ridge, crosses Badal Danda at 3,210 m, and climbs to High Camp at 3,580 m. Machhapuchhre stands directly ahead across the valley, and the sunset from the dining hall is one of the moments most trekkers remember from the whole trip. Pace above Low Camp is deliberately slow, and anyone showing early symptoms is held lower for the night.

The Mardi summit morning. We leave High Camp around 04:30 with headtorches for the pre-dawn ridge climb to the Upper Viewpoint at 4,200 m. On a clear morning the sun lifts over the eastern peaks while Dhaulagiri sits far to the west and the Annapurna wall fills the sky in front of you. This is the first of the trek's two high points.

Back at High Camp for a proper breakfast, then the long descent begins. Rather than retrace the inbound trail, we drop through the forest toward the Gurung village of Sidhing. Trekking poles matter here; the descent is steep and the knees feel it. We overnight at Sidhing, the bridge between the Mardi ridge and the road into the Annapurna Sanctuary.

The transition day. We traverse from the Mardi side toward Landruk, a large Gurung village on the classic ABC trail, then continue to Jhinu Danda. This is where the second half of the trek properly begins: the route now feeds into the Annapurna Sanctuary line.

Jhinu is the mid-trek reward. A short walk below the village brings you to natural hot springs on the bank of the Modi Khola, and a long soak after four days of climbing and descending is exactly what tired legs need before the push into the Sanctuary.

A day of stone staircases. The climb up to Chhomrong at 2,170 m is the gateway village to the inner Sanctuary, with a famous long descent of steps on the far side down to the Chhomrong Khola, then back up toward Sinuwa.

From Sinuwa the trail enters cool bamboo and rhododendron forest and drops to Bamboo at 2,310 m for the night. The valley narrows from here, and the sense of walking into an amphitheatre of peaks starts to build.

A steady climbing day deeper into the gorge. The trail follows the Modi Khola through Dovan, past the small shrine at Himalaya, and on to Deurali at 3,200 m. The forest gives way to low scrub and the air starts to feel thinner.

Deurali is the last stop before the high base camps. We keep the day short on purpose so you arrive with energy in reserve and acclimatised for the final climb. Another pulse-oximetry check happens here.

The Sanctuary day. The trail climbs to Machhapuchhre Base Camp at 3,700 m, where the valley suddenly opens and you stand surrounded by Hiunchuli, Annapurna South, and the sheer fluted face of Machhapuchhre. We pause here before the final hour and a half up to Annapurna Base Camp.

Annapurna Base Camp sits at 4,130 m on the floor of a glacial amphitheatre ringed by peaks, with Annapurna I towering above. This is the trek's second high point and its emotional climax. We time the arrival for the afternoon, then aim to be up for both sunset and sunrise on the Annapurna wall.

Sunrise on the Annapurna wall, then the long descent. We retrace the inner Sanctuary route past Machhapuchhre Base Camp, Deurali, and Dovan, losing altitude fast and steadily back to Bamboo for the night.

Descending is easier on the lungs but harder on the knees. Poles and an unhurried pace keep the day comfortable, and the forest is a welcome change after the open glacier basin.

Back over the Sinuwa and Chhomrong staircases, then down to Jhinu Danda for a second night at the hot springs. After the cold of the high Sanctuary, the warm pools feel earned all over again.

This is a relaxed afternoon. Most of the hard climbing of the whole trek is now behind you, and the last two days are about easing back down to the valley.

A short final walk down to the road head at Siwai, where the jeep meets us for the scenic, bumpy road back to Pokhara at 820 m. We reach the lakeside by early to mid afternoon.

Hot shower, a real bed, and a celebration dinner by Phewa Lake. After ten days on the trail the contrast is the whole point.

A full rest day in Pokhara, and a built-in buffer. If weather closed a viewpoint earlier in the trek, this is the slack we use to absorb the delay without anyone missing a flight.

If everything ran to plan, it is a free day to boat on Phewa Lake, visit the World Peace Pagoda, or simply rest tired legs by the water.

We transfer you to Kathmandu by the short flight or the tourist coach, depending on your plan. For trekkers flying home directly from Pokhara, this day stays in Pokhara as a second buffer.

An evening in Kathmandu leaves time for last-minute shopping in Thamel and a final group dinner.

We arrange your onward transfer to the airport whenever your international departure is timed. The exact shape of these final days, Pokhara versus Kathmandu, flight versus drive, is tailored to your flight home and confirmed in the briefing on Day 1.