Your guide will pick you up at the hotel at 6:30 am and escort you to the bus station. The tourist bus to Pokhara leaves at around 7:30 am. The scenery along the road is quite dramatic and you will see rivers, valleys, cascading rice terrace farms and rocky gorges. Upon arrival, you may check in at the hotel and in the evening, you may enjoy leisure boating on the scenic Fewa Lake and see the reflection of the Mount Machhapuchhre and Annapurna Range on the crystal clear water of the Lake. Overnight at hotel, breakfast included.

You will drive at the road head at Phedi and start the trek to Pothana where you will stay in a tea house lodge for the first night. Overnight at Guesthouse, breakfast, lunch, and dinner included.

From Pothana, you will walk up to a place called Pitam Deurali, where you will turn off the main Annapurna Sanctuary Trek and continue along a quiet trail through a dense forest of oak, maple, hemlock, and rhododendrons. Tonight, we will be staying at one of the lodges in a clearing of the forest at Forest Camp, also known by the locals as Kokar. The lodges at Kokar are quite basic and there is no dining room, so you will have meals in the kitchen with the owner, so in some ways, this is more like a homestay and is a good opportunity to get to know this friendly family from Siding Village. Overnight Guesthouse, breakfast, lunch, and dinner included.

From Forest Camp to Low Camp, the trail continues through the forest; however, as we ascend, the vegetation starts to change with more rhododendrons and trees covered with moss, lichen and tree ferns. At Low Camp, there are two basic lodges- one with a dining room with open fire. The view from Low Camp is superb, with Mount Machhapuchhre visible up the valley. Overnight Guesthouse, breakfast, lunch, and dinner included.

An hour or so above Low Camp, the trail breaks out above the tree line and towards the west- there is a good view of the Annapurna South and the Hiunchuli. The trail continues along the Mardi Himal ridge mainly on a grass with some isolated rhododendron bushes along the way. Look out for the colorful Danphe pheasants on this section of the trail. The lodge at High Camp is larger than lodges at Low Camp and Forest Camp, this one has eight rooms and a separate dining room with heater. The view from the lodge is superb of Annapurna South, Hiunchuli and Machhapuchhre (Fishtail). Overnight Guesthouse, breakfast, lunch, and dinner included.

The plan for today is to wake up early for a sunrise view of the mountains, then after an early breakfast, walk up the ridge towards Mardi Himal. There is a well-established trail through the grass with a couple of steeper sections, however, overall, it’s not too challenging. Look out for the dzos (yak/ cow crossbreds) grazing up here as well as Danphe pheasant. In the summer, the sheep and goats from lower villages are brought up to graze in this area so you will pass a number of herder’s huts along the way. After three hours, you should reach the Upper Viewpoint at 4,200m; this is where one can look into the Annapurna Sanctuary and the panoramic view is spectacular looking at the south face of Annapurna and all of the peaks in the Sanctuary as well as Hiunchuli and Machhapuchhre (Fishtail). Overnight Guesthouse, breakfast, lunch, and dinner included.

On the return trek, you’ll be taking a different route, thus completing a circuit and from the Low Camp, there is a trail that goes down to Siding village rather than going back down Mardi Himal back to Kokar. Siding is a traditional Nepalese village and still very much away from the busier tourist treks and it is likely you will stay at a home in Siding owned by the person who runs one of the lodges at Low Camp. Overnight Guesthouse, breakfast, lunch, and dinner included.

From Siding, you will walk out to the road head at Lumre; on the way from Siding you will pass the villages of Kalimati and Ghalel. Kalimati is mainly a Brahmin village with Ghalel and Siding both being a mix of Brahmin and Gurung. At Lumre, you will meet your jeep organized by us in advance to drive you back to Pokhara. Overnight Guesthouse, breakfast, and lunch included.

A scenic drive back to Kathmandu by tourist bus will be undertaken by you today, which takes approximately 6 hours. Overnight at hotel, breakfast included.

Approximately 3 hours before the scheduled flight, a representative from Escape Himalaya will take you to the airport from where you will depart.