October 29: The number of visitors in the famed Mardi Himal foot trail located in Kaski district has increased significantly. Since the start of Dashain, occupancy of hotels and restaurants has been full due to the increase in the number of tourists on this tour. Businessmen say that the arrival of domestic and foreign tourists has been encouraging since Ghatasthapana, the first day of the Dashain festival. Meanwhile, the arrival of tourists has increased sharply since the day after the celebration of Dashain.

Mardi trail is one of the best trekking routes that can be done in a short time. It is the preferred choice of most of the people because it is possible to return to Pokhara in three days and two nights.

Tourists are attracted by the snow-capped mountains, lush green forests, beautiful hills and settlements along the trail.

The attraction of foreign and domestic tourists towards this trekking route is increasing year by year as there is an opportunity to see more than half a dozen mountains including Mt Machhapuchhre, Mardi, Annapurna South, Himchuli, Annapurna First, Gangapurna, Gandharva Chuli.

Raj Kumar Tamang, chairman of the Mardi Trek Tourism Management Committee, said that around 400 domestic and foreign tourists are now enjoying the Mardi trek on a daily basis. According to him, with the increase in the number of tourists, businessmen are elated.

“We are excited by the current increase in arrival of tourists, which has been affected by the Covid-19. Since the day after Dashain, we have been struggling to manage the tourists," said Tamang.

There are 60 hotels and restaurants along the Mardi foot trail. It has the capacity to accommodate around 550 tourists per day. It is said that the daily arrival of tourists is more than 500.

Prakash Baral, a member of the provincial assembly of Gandaki Province, who did the Mardi trek two days ago, said that he was thrilled during the journey. He said that with the beautiful view from the "view point", all the fatigue and suffering experienced during the trek will be forgotten in one moment.

"Mardi trek has become the main choice of domestic tourists. This has contributed to the economic activity. There is no problem for fooding and lodging. It is a perfect destination for family travel,” said Baral.

Stating that the tourists are facing problems due to the lack of toilets at the "view point", Provincial Assembly member Baral said that he will take initiative with the provincial government to solve the problem.

Mardi foot trail starts after a jeep ride to Kalimati and Siding through Ghalel of Machhapuchhre Rural Municipality, which is 22 km away from Pokhara. From there, one can climb uphill through the forest path and reach the Low Camp located at an altitude of 2,970 meters.

From the Low Camp, the trail leads to the High Camp, view point and then the Mardi Himal base camp at an altitude of 4,500 meters. From the 'view point', one can enjoy the view of the Pokhara valley and other places with more than half a dozen mountains.

Most of the tourists reach Mardi Himal base camp through Ghalel, Kanoning and return to Pokhara via Lwang, also known as the tea village.

Shiv Bhandari, the owner of Hotel Kalimati, which is located along the foot trail, said that the Mardi foot trail is a short trek that can be completed even during one or two days’ vacation.