Mardi Himal trek cost breakdown
What a 5-day Mardi Himal trek costs: the ACAP permit, four nights at High Camp altitude, guide and porter, the unpriced taxi to Kande, and what sharing saves.
Mardi Himal is the budget favourite of the Annapurna region: a ridge walk from Pokhara with four nights in simple lodges and a viewpoint at about 4,500 m. Using our dated cost data (as of October 2026, at NPR 134 to the dollar), the 5-day plan costs about USD 200 to 300 for one budget trekker, USD 150 to 230 each for two sharing and USD 130 to 190 each for four. With a porter for every two trekkers and better lodges, the range is about USD 310 to 470 for one person and USD 200 to 300 each in a group of four. Two lines are missing from those totals: the taxi from Pokhara to the trailhead, for which no fare is published, and the TIMS card.
Over five days the guide is the biggest line by far, which makes Mardi Himal a good trek to share. The figures come from the "What it costs" section of the Mardi Himal route page and the Annapurna cost file behind it.
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What the 5-day plan assumes
Day 1 drives from Pokhara to Kande and walks via Australian Camp and Pothana to Forest Camp (2,500 m). Day 2 climbs to Low Camp (2,970 m), day 3 to High Camp (3,550 m), and day 4 is an early start to the upper viewpoint, Mardi Himal Base Camp at about 4,500 m, and back to High Camp. Day 5 descends to Siding and drives to Pokhara. For costing the plan counts:
- 4 nights, all in the 2,500 to 3,800 m band.
- 5 guide days and 5 porter days.
- One ACAP permit and a TIMS card.
- A Pokhara to Kande taxi or bus, out and back, flagged "to check".
If you compare the plan with others from Pokhara, Poon Hill versus Mardi Himal and Annapurna Base Camp versus Mardi Himal set the routes side by side, and the day-by-day itinerary walks through each stage.
Lodging and food
All four nights fall in one band, so the arithmetic is simple. For the Annapurna region, as of October 2026, a night between 2,500 and 3,800 m including a room and meals costs:
| Style | Per night | Four nights |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | NPR 2,900 to 4,300 | NPR 11,600 to 17,200 (about USD 87 to 128) |
| Mid-range | NPR 3,800 to 5,600 | NPR 15,200 to 22,400 |
| Comfort | NPR 4,900 to 7,100 | NPR 19,600 to 28,400 |
Our data puts a room in this band at NPR 500 to 1,200 and a dal bhat at NPR 700 to 1,200. Expect prices to climb as you go higher, because everything is carried up the ridge. For how nightly prices are built, see teahouse prices by altitude.
Permits and the guide rule
The ACAP permit is NPR 3,000 for foreigners (SAARC nationals NPR 1,000), about USD 22, tax included, per the NTNC e-permit page. Buy it in Pokhara or Kathmandu: online payment adds a 2.9% gateway charge and a permit issued at a check post costs double. Children under 10 are free. See the ACAP permit guide. The TIMS card is agency-issued at NPR 2,000 for foreigners (SAARC nationals NPR 1,000) per the Nepal Tourism Board, and checkpoint practice in Annapurna varies, so ask your agency.
Mardi Himal is not a restricted area, but it is in the Annapurna Conservation Area, so the guide rule applies. The Nepal Tourism Board announced in April 2023 that foreign trekkers must use a licensed guide in national parks and conservation areas. We found no separate Department of Immigration or park-authority notice, but 2026 operator reports say checkpoints enforce it in Annapurna (ACAP) and Langtang, the strictest, and most other parks, though not in Khumbu (checked 19 October 2026). Budget for a guide; see the guide rule explainer.
Guide and porter
Annapurna rates in our data are NPR 2,700 to 4,000 a day for a guide and NPR 2,100 to 3,400 for a porter, from market ranges in 2026 operator guides. No official minimum was found. On the plan:
| Line | One trekker | Two sharing | Four sharing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guide, 5 days, shared | NPR 13,500 to 20,000 | NPR 6,750 to 10,000 | NPR 3,375 to 5,000 |
| Porters, mid-range, 5 days | NPR 10,500 to 17,000 | NPR 5,250 to 8,500 | NPR 5,250 to 8,500 per person |
A solo guide is about USD 100 to 150, but USD 25 to 37 each in a group of four. Mardi Himal is short enough that many people carry a light pack and skip the porter, which is exactly what the budget column assumes; guide versus porter roles explains when a porter is worth it.
Transport: the unpriced line
The only transport in the plan is a taxi or bus from Pokhara to Kande, out and back, and the drive from Siding. Our sources publish no fare for it, so the line is flagged to check and the totals exclude it. It is a one-hour ride, so it is small compared with the other lines, but get a fixed price before you leave and split it between partners. Our region note puts the Kathmandu to Pokhara tourist bus at NPR 800 to 2,500 each way if you are starting in Kathmandu.
The totals
Per person, rounded outward to the nearest USD 10:
| Style | One trekker | Two sharing | Four sharing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Budget lodges, guide, no porter | USD 200 to 300 | USD 150 to 230 | USD 130 to 190 |
| Mid-range lodges, guide, one porter per two | USD 310 to 470 | USD 220 to 330 | USD 200 to 300 |
| Comfort lodges, guide, one porter each | USD 340 to 520 | USD 290 to 440 | USD 270 to 400 |
Going from alone to a group of four saves about USD 70 to 110 in the budget style and USD 110 to 170 at mid-range. These are modest amounts in absolute terms, because the trek is short and cheap, so the case for partners here is as much about company and safety on a ridge as about money.
What is not counted
International flights, insurance, Pokhara hotels, gear, tips, snacks, showers, charging, the taxi and the TIMS card are not in the totals. High Camp is at 3,550 m and the viewpoint at about 4,500 m, so insurance should cover helicopter evacuation above 4,000 m. The step from Low Camp (2,970 m) to High Camp is about 580 m. The CDC Yellow Book advises, once above 3,000 m, no more than 500 m of extra sleeping altitude per day, so that step is a little over the guideline and the day should be taken slowly. The altitude sickness basics guide covers the warning signs, and the Annapurna region page advises asking lodge owners about snow and avalanche risk before you move on in winter and spring.
How it compares, and what an extra day costs
Mardi Himal sits between Poon Hill and Langtang on cost. From our dated data, as of October 2026, the per-person ranges for one trekker are:
| Trek | Days | Budget | Mid-range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poon Hill | 4 | USD 80 to 120, no guide | USD 240 to 370 |
| Mardi Himal | 5 | USD 200 to 300 | USD 310 to 470 |
| Langtang Valley | 8 | USD 340 to 540 | USD 700 to 1,200 |
A spare day on the ridge costs a mid-band night at budget prices (NPR 2,900 to 4,300) plus the guide (NPR 2,700 to 4,000 for one trekker, NPR 675 to 1,000 each for four). That is about NPR 5,600 to 8,300 (USD 42 to 62) alone and NPR 3,575 to 5,300 (USD 27 to 40) in a group of four. A buffer day is worth keeping in winter and spring, when snow can slow the upper ridge, and the cost is small compared with the cost of rushing the High Camp night.
Season and the ridge
Season affects this budget more through risk than through price. Our Annapurna region page lists March to May and October to November as the best months, with the monsoon bringing wet, leech-prone and cloudy trails on the southern routes, so a wet-season trek is more likely to need a spare day. A spare day is cheap here, as shown above, and a day lost to cloud or snow is usually better spent at a lodge than on the upper ridge. If you travel in winter, ask lodge owners about snow before you climb past Low Camp, and treat the viewpoint day as optional: the plan reaches Mardi Himal Base Camp at about 4,500 m on a round trip of six to seven hours from High Camp, which is the one day that should be dropped first if conditions turn.
Using the numbers
Ask your guide or agency for an itemised quote and compare it with the tables. Check whether the guide's food and lodging are included, whether the porter carries both of you, and what the taxi costs. Then look for partners on the Mardi Himal partner page, and browse the rest of the Annapurna region. More budgets are in the costs and budget hub; the Nepal trekking cost guide explains every line.
