Annapurna Base Camp or Mardi Himal? How to choose between them
The two treks people email us about most, side by side. They suit different trekkers, and choosing the wrong trek is the most common mistake we see.
By the Lakeshore team · 7 min read · Updated 5 October 2026
These two are the shortlist that lands in our inbox most often, usually phrased as 'which is better'. Neither is. They're different shapes of trek that suit different people, and the deciding factors are rarely the ones people ask about.
I've guided both more times than I can count. This is how I help someone choose when they walk into our office in Lakeside.
The short version: Mardi is the better walk, and Annapurna Base Camp is the better destination.
A valley walk and a ridge walk
The route to Annapurna Base Camp walks up a valley. For two days you're inside the walls of the gorge, and then the mountains arrive all at once when the Sanctuary opens out at 4,130 m. The whole trek builds to that moment.
Mardi walks along a ridge. From the moment you climb out of the trees above Low Camp, the view is with you all day for the rest of the trek. There's no big reveal at the end, and Mardi doesn't need one.
That single difference in shape explains almost everything else: who enjoys which, what the weather does to each, and which one people talk about afterwards.
Difficulty, which surprises people
ABC is longer, seven days on the trail against five, and covers more distance overall. The hardest part is the Chhomrong staircase, roughly 2,500 stone steps down and the same back up, and you do it twice because the route is an out-and-back.
Mardi is steeper each day and colder at night, because the ridge is exposed on both sides. It finishes with a hard 1,900 m descent to Siding, all in a single day.
Most people who have done both tell me Mardi felt harder day to day and ABC felt harder overall. If your knees are the weak point, ABC's stairs are the bigger problem. If you struggle with cold and wind, Mardi will test you more.
Weather risk, and why it matters more on Mardi
Very few people think about this when they choose, and it's the one I'd weigh most.
At ABC the view is the Sanctuary itself, and you're standing inside it. Cloud comes up the gorge most mornings by ten or eleven, but you sleep at base camp, and the clear window at dawn is very reliable.
On Mardi the view is the point of every day, and you're on an exposed ridge that makes its own weather. Two bad days on Mardi means you walked up a hill inside a grey box. It does happen, which is why we push people to add a spare night at High Camp. A second morning roughly doubles your odds.
If your dates are fixed and tight, ABC is the safer bet. If you have a spare day, Mardi rewards it.
Crowds
Both are busy in October. ABC is the busier of the two in sheer numbers, because it's on every operator's list, and in peak weeks the lodges above Chhomrong are full by mid-afternoon.
Ten years ago Mardi was the quiet alternative. It isn't any more. High Camp fills up and there's a queue at sunrise on the good mornings. If what you want is solitude, neither trek is the answer. Look at Khumai Danda instead, the next ridge over, with the same Machhapuchhre face and a fraction of the people. I have that conversation more than any other, and it usually ends with someone changing their booking.
Altitude
At ABC you sleep at 4,130 m. Mardi's High Camp is 3,550 m, with a push toward 4,200 m for the viewpoint that you don't sleep at.
So ABC asks a little more of your acclimatisation, and its profile is the one to respect. The ones who struggle squeeze it into four or five days for a flight, which is why our itinerary adds a night at Deurali.
On Mardi the altitude is mild enough that it's rarely what holds people back. The cold and the wind are.
Which one to book
Take ABC if you have seven days, want the famous destination and have fixed dates. It also suits people who like a trek with a clear goal, and anyone on their first big trek who wants good lodges and reliable food.
Take Mardi if you have five days and would sooner walk with a view than toward one, if you've done some hill walking, and if you can spare a night for weather and don't mind a cold, exposed camp. With two weeks, take both: Mardi first, down to Siding, across to Ghandruk and up to the Sanctuary. Few fortnights in the Annapurnas are better, and hardly anyone books this one. Send us your dates and we'll tell you which fits.
Walk it with us
Private departures on your dates, guided by the people who wrote this page.
Questions we get asked
Which has better lodges?
Annapurna Base Camp, comfortably. It has more lodges, longer menus, hot showers further up the valley and a bakery at Chhomrong. Mardi's lodges are fewer, simpler and more exposed.
Which is cheaper?
Mardi, mostly because it's two days shorter. Daily costs on the trail are about the same.
Which is better for a first-ever trek?
ABC, if you have the days, because the lodges are better and the daily climbs are gentler. With only five days, Mardi is fine for a fit beginner. With only three, take Poon Hill instead of squeezing either of them.
Can I do Mardi and see Annapurna Base Camp?
You can see into the Sanctuary from Mardi's upper viewpoint, looking down the Modi Khola. That view is a good way to decide whether you want to come back and walk in.
Still deciding?
Tell us your dates and how much walking you've done, and we'll tell you whether Annapurna Base Camp is right for you. If it isn't, we'll say so.
Nothing to pay online. We confirm your dates first.
Or call the office +977 61-457830