Trip Snapshot

It takes us through beautiful forests, interesting villages, and valleys, the cultural diversity being the main attraction of the Mardi Himal trek. Mardi Himal (5587m/18331ft), lying less than fifteen miles north of Pokhara, is the most southerly mountain of the Annapurna range. Among the four trekking peaks in the Annapurna region, Mardi Himal is a five-day slog up to the Mardi Khola to approach the peak. It is the lowest and perhaps the least climbed or visited the trekking peaks in Nepal. Taking on this trek we get the sight of beautiful mountain views, sparkling rivers, and lush green terraced fields. The attention of western mountaineers was first drawn to Mardi Himal by the photographs of Basil Goodfellow, taken in 1953. However, it was not until 1961 that the mountain received its first ascent. Jimmy Roberts, with two Sherpas, first climbed to the summit by a route on its west flank. Best seen from the south, the mountain terminates the South-West ridge of Machhapuchhre as a distinct and separate mass, at right-angles to that ridge. From some viewpoints, it seems little more than an outlier on the south-west flank of Machhapuchhre. On Mardi Himal, South-West Face is three well-defined ridges rising from rock buttresses and separated by hanging glaciers. Mardi Himal, East Face is separated from Machhapuchhre ridge by a col (5200m). Our trekking route of ascent reaches this col from a glaciated amphitheater that rises above a hidden plateau; the ‘Other Sanctuary’, so-called by Roberts. The peak provides a commanding view of the Annapurna Range along with a spectacular vista of Mount Machhapuchhre. Despite its lowly latitude the mountain obviously has a great deal of potential for those interested in small-scale exploratory mountaineering and the ridges already mentioned present obvious climbing challenges at a reasonable standard.