Poon Hill & Mardi Himal Trek

We leave Pokhara after breakfast and drive down the Modi Khola valley to the trailhead at Nayapul, registering permits at Birethanti. The walking is gentle at first, following the river through Tikhedhunga and the Magar and Gurung farms of Hile before the trail rears up.

Then comes the Ulleri staircase, the famous stone climb that the Poon Hill side is known for. It is somewhere between 3,000 and 3,700 steps depending on whose count you believe; those are operator figures, so treat them as rough. It is a tough hour, and after it the path settles. We overnight in Ulleri at 1,960 metres with the first wide view back down the valley.

A beautiful forest day. The trail climbs through dense rhododendron and oak woodland, passing Banthanti and Nangethanti, the canopy thick enough that the sun comes through in patches. In spring this is one of the best stretches of rhododendron forest in the whole Annapurna region, the trees in full red and pink bloom.

We reach Ghorepani at 2,860 metres by mid afternoon. It is a busy ridge village of blue-roofed lodges straddling the pass, and it is the launch point for the next morning. Early dinner, because the sunrise climb starts in the dark.

The first sunrise. We leave Ghorepani around 04:30 with headtorches for the 45-minute climb to the Poon Hill viewing tower at 3,210 metres. On a clear morning the panorama is one of the great Himalayan views: Dhaulagiri to the west, the whole Annapurna wall in front, and Machhapuchhre off to the right, all lit up as the sun lifts. This is the wide, classic photograph that draws people to Ghorepani.

Back down to Ghorepani for breakfast, then we cross toward the Mardi side. The trail climbs over Deurali and drops through more rhododendron forest to Tadapani at 2,630 metres, a small cluster of lodges in a forest clearing with Annapurna South filling the view to the north.

A short, downhill morning into Ghandruk, the big Gurung village and the cultural heart of this trek. The trail drops through forest and opens onto Ghandruk's famous stone-paved lanes and tiered slate-roofed houses, terraced fields falling away below and Annapurna South and Machhapuchhre standing directly above.

Ghandruk is the largest Gurung settlement in the Annapurna region and a place worth more than a passing night. It has a small Gurung museum, old stone houses, and a long association with the Gurkha regiments; many families here have soldiers in their history. We arrive early enough to actually look around rather than just sleep, which is the point of routing the combo through here. Read more about the people and traditions of the region on our people and culture page.

The afternoon is yours to wander the village, visit the museum, or simply sit with tea and the mountains. After two days of forest, Ghandruk is the human centre of the walk.

The crossover day, where the cultural leg ends and the wild ridge begins. We drop from Ghandruk to the Modi Khola, cross the river, and climb to Landruk at 1,565 metres, the last proper village before the Mardi route. From here the path turns up and away from the main Annapurna Base Camp trail onto the quiet Mardi ridge.

The afternoon climbs steeply through cloud forest of oak, maple, and rhododendron to Forest Camp at 2,550 metres. The contrast with the busy Poon Hill side is immediate: fewer people, smaller lodges, and the trail closing in to a single forested spine. Langur troops are common in the canopy on this stretch.

The main altitude day on the Mardi side. The trail climbs steadily through the upper forest to Low Camp at 2,985 metres, 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 and crosses Badal Danda, then climbs to High Camp at 3,580 metres. Because Poon Hill came first, you reach this point already part-acclimatised, which is the quiet advantage of doing the combo in this order. Pace is deliberately slow above Low Camp, and anyone showing early symptoms is held lower rather than pushed on. If altitude is new to you, read our altitude sickness guidance before you commit to the pace.

Arrive High Camp in the afternoon with time to rest. Machhapuchhre stands directly ahead across the valley, and the sunset from the dining hall is the moment most trekkers remember.

The second sunrise, and the highest point of the trek. We leave High Camp around 04:30 for the pre-dawn ridge climb to the Upper Viewpoint at 4,200 metres. This is the close-up to Poon Hill's wide shot: Machhapuchhre and Annapurna South rise almost overhead, near enough to feel rather than just photograph, with Dhaulagiri far to the west. Two sunrises, two completely different kinds of mountain view, in one trip.

Back to High Camp for breakfast, then the long descent. We drop through Low Camp and take the forest path toward the Gurung village of Sidhing rather than retracing the inbound trail, so the trek finishes on fresh ground. Trekking poles matter here; the descent is steep and the knees feel it.

A relaxed final walking morning down terraced farmland from Sidhing, a working Gurung village where the trek properly ends. The jeep meets us here for the rough but scenic road back to Pokhara at 820 metres, passing through Lwang and its tea gardens on the way.

We reach the Pokhara lakeside by early to mid afternoon. Hot shower, a real bed, and a celebration dinner by Phewa Lake. After a week on the trail through two sunrises and one big Gurung village, the contrast is the point.

Day 9 is a built-in buffer. If weather closed either viewpoint, this is the day we use to rearrange without anyone missing a flight. If everything ran to plan, it is a free day in Pokhara to rest tired legs, boat on Phewa Lake, or visit the World Peace Pagoda.

We arrange your onward transfer to the airport or tourist bus station whenever your departure is timed. Keeping this day in the plan is the difference between a relaxed finish and a rushed one.