A quiet ridge under the forbidden peak
Mardi Himal is a modest mountain by local standards, 5,587 m, separated from Machhapuchhre by a col about 5,200 m high. It was first climbed in 1961 by Basil Goodfellow, a British climber, four years after the 1957 expedition that came within about 50 m of Machhapuchhre's summit and turned back by agreement with the king. Since then Machhapuchhre has stayed closed, and Mardi is the closest most people get.
For centuries the ridge itself was used by herders from the Gurung villages below, such as Siding and Lwang, who brought cattle and sheep up to summer grazing on its high meadows. Kharka, the word for a high pasture, still appears in local names, and you may pass stone herders' shelters along the crest. The forests below were sources of fodder, firewood and bamboo.
As the main Annapurna trails grew busy, local families built simple lodges up the ridge, and in the 2010s the route was promoted as a teahouse trek. It has grown steadily but remains small: lodges at the higher camps have only a few rooms each. The view, the forest and the sense of walking a narrow line into the mountains have stayed the same.
