One of the pleasures of trekking in Nepal is that you do not need to carry a tent or cook your own food. Along the Mardi Himal route, family-run tea houses provide a bed, a hot meal and a warm dining room at every stop. They are simple, but they are also where much of the trek's social life happens: sharing a table with trekkers from a dozen countries, drying socks by the stove and watching the mountains turn pink at sunset.
This guide explains what to expect from the food and accommodation on the Mardi Himal Trek, camp by camp, including rooms, facilities, menus, prices and tips for staying comfortable.
What a Mardi Himal Tea House Is Like
A tea house is a small lodge, usually run by a family who lives on site. Most have a single-storey or two-storey building with a row of bedrooms, a dining room with a stove at its centre, a kitchen, and a separate toilet block. Walls are often thin plywood or stone, and rooms are unheated. The dining room is the only warm space, so this is where everyone spends the evening.
On the Mardi Himal route the lodges are newer than on older routes such as Annapurna Base Camp, and they are generally clean and well kept. They are still basic, especially above Low Camp, where every item has to be carried up by porters or mules. For a camp-by-camp tour of lodges, read tea houses along the Mardi Himal trail.
Rooms and Bedding
Rooms are almost always twin rooms with two single beds, a thin foam mattress, a pillow and one or two blankets. Some lower lodges have a few rooms with attached bathrooms; above Forest Camp these are rare. There is usually a single light bulb, a hook or two, and a small window. Solo trekkers normally get a twin room to themselves outside peak season, but in October and November, and sometimes April, rooms may be shared or dormitory space used at High Camp.
Blankets are provided, but they are not always enough at Low Camp and High Camp, where night temperatures fall below freezing for much of the year. We recommend bringing or renting a sleeping bag rated to around minus 10 degrees Celsius. Our sleeping bag guide explains why, and staying warm at night in tea houses has practical tips.
Facilities Camp by Camp
| Stop | Lodges | Hot shower | Charging | Signal or Wi-Fi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitam Deurali | Several | Usually, for a fee | Usually, for a fee | Mobile signal often available |
| Forest Camp | A handful | Usually, for a fee | Usually, for a fee | Limited |
| Low Camp | Several | Often, for a fee | Often, for a fee | Patchy |
| Badal Danda | A few | Sometimes | Limited | Patchy |
| High Camp | Several | Rarely practical | Limited, solar-dependent | Patchy, sometimes none |
Facilities change from season to season as lodges upgrade, so treat this as a general picture. Our guide to Wi-Fi, mobile signal and charging on the trek has more detail.
Toilets and Washing
Most lodges have shared toilets in a separate block, often a mix of squat and Western-style toilets. Toilet paper is not always provided, so carry your own along with hand sanitiser. At the higher camps, water pipes can freeze on cold nights, in which case you flush with a bucket of water. Hot showers are usually heated by gas or solar and cost a small fee in the lower and middle camps. At High Camp many trekkers make do with a bowl of warm water and wet wipes. See toilets, showers and washing on the trek.
The Tea House Menu
Menus along the Mardi Himal route are remarkably similar from lodge to lodge. A typical menu includes:
- Dal bhat: rice, lentil soup, vegetable curry, pickle and often greens. Refills are usually free, making it the best value meal on the trail.
- Noodles and fried rice: with vegetables, egg or cheese.
- Momos: steamed or fried dumplings with vegetable or cheese fillings.
- Pasta and potatoes: spaghetti, macaroni, boiled or fried potatoes, and rosti-style potato dishes.
- Soups: garlic soup, which many guides swear helps with altitude, plus vegetable, mushroom and noodle soups.
- Breakfast: porridge, muesli, pancakes, Tibetan bread, chapati, eggs any style, and toast in the lower lodges.
- Drinks: black tea, milk tea, ginger lemon honey, hot chocolate, instant coffee and hot lemon.
Our Mardi Himal menu guide explains what to order for energy at each altitude, and the story of dal bhat explains why it keeps Nepali porters going all day.
A Sample Day of Eating on the Trail
It helps to picture how meals fit around the walking. A normal trekking day on Mardi Himal looks something like this:
- Breakfast, around 7 a.m. Porridge or muesli with hot milk, followed by eggs and Tibetan bread or a chapati, and a large mug of tea. You order the evening before so the kitchen can prepare everything in time.
- Mid-morning snack. A handful of nuts, a biscuit packet or a chocolate bar from Pokhara, eaten during a rest stop.
- Lunch, around midday. A plate of fried rice, noodles or dal bhat at a lodge along the way. On the long forest day between Pitam Deurali and Forest Camp there are few stops, so your guide will plan lunch carefully.
- Afternoon tea on arrival. Ginger lemon honey or milk tea while you change into warm clothes.
- Dinner, around 6:30 p.m. Usually dal bhat, which is filling, cheap to refill and easy to digest, or a pasta or potato dish with a bowl of soup first.
On the Base Camp hike the pattern changes. Most groups have a hot drink and a biscuit before leaving High Camp in the dark, carry snacks for the climb, and eat a full breakfast after returning.
Eating Well at Altitude
Many trekkers lose their appetite above about 3,000 meters, just when their bodies need more fuel. Mardi Himal is short enough that this rarely becomes serious, but it can leave you feeling flat on the steep climb to High Camp and the early start to Base Camp. A few habits help:
- Favour carbohydrates such as rice, potatoes, noodles and bread, which are easier to digest at altitude than fatty or heavy meals.
- Eat something every couple of hours while walking, even if you do not feel hungry.
- Start dinner with a bowl of soup. It adds fluid as well as calories, and garlic soup is a trail favourite.
- Avoid very spicy food and alcohol at the higher camps if your stomach is unsettled.
- Keep drinking. Dehydration makes loss of appetite worse and can mimic the early signs of altitude sickness.
Our guide to eating enough at altitude goes into more detail.
Food Hygiene and Avoiding Stomach Trouble
Stomach upsets are the most common minor illness on Nepali treks, and they usually come from water or food handling rather than the dishes themselves. Tea houses on the Mardi Himal route are generally careful, but it is still worth taking precautions. Wash your hands or use sanitiser before every meal, drink only treated or boiled water, choose freshly cooked hot dishes, and be cautious with salads, cut fruit and anything that has been sitting at room temperature. Carry a small kit with oral rehydration salts and any medication your doctor recommends. Our guide to avoiding stomach problems on the trek explains more.
Choosing a Room and a Lodge
If you trek with a guide, they usually choose the lodge, often one they know well. Where you do have a choice, a few small things make a difference. Rooms close to the dining room are warmer. Rooms far from the toilet block are quieter and less smelly, though you will walk further at night. Upper-floor rooms tend to be slightly warmer and drier. At High Camp, a room with an east-facing window lets you check the sky before the Base Camp hike without leaving your sleeping bag. And if a lodge has solar-heated showers, use them in the afternoon, when the water has had all day to warm.
Accommodation in Pokhara and Kathmandu
Before and after the trek you will stay in a hotel rather than a tea house. Pokhara's Lakeside area has everything from simple guesthouses to comfortable hotels with views over Phewa Lake, and it is close to gear shops, restaurants and the permit office. On the 9-day itinerary you also spend nights in Kathmandu, usually in or near Thamel. On our packages these nights are included on a twin-sharing basis with breakfast. If you are arranging your own, read where to stay in Pokhara before the trek.
Meat, Vegetarian and Special Diets
Most dishes are vegetarian by default, which suits the conditions. Meat is carried up from the valleys without refrigeration, so many guides advise avoiding it above the lower camps. Vegetarians will find plenty of choice, and vegans can manage by asking for dishes without butter, cheese or egg. Gluten-free trekkers should rely on rice, potatoes and dal. For more, see vegetarian and vegan trekking on Mardi Himal and is it safe to eat meat on the trek?
How Prices Change with Altitude
Everything above the road is carried in on someone's back, so prices rise the higher you go. A plate of dal bhat that costs a modest amount at Pitam Deurali will cost noticeably more at High Camp, and bottled drinks, chocolate bars and hot showers follow the same pattern. Tea houses in the Annapurna region also expect you to eat dinner and breakfast where you sleep, which is why room rates are kept low.
If you are on one of our packages, three meals a day are included while trekking, so you only pay for extras such as snacks, bottled drinks, hot showers and charging. If you are budgeting independently, read our guides to tea house prices and food prices by altitude.
Drinking Water
Buying bottled water on the trek is expensive and creates plastic waste that has to be carried out. Most lodges sell boiled or filtered water for refilling your own bottle, and many trekkers treat tap water with purification tablets, a filter or a UV pen. Aim to drink three to four liters a day to help with acclimatization. Our guide to safe drinking water on the trek compares the options.
Booking Rooms in Peak Season
For most of the year you can simply arrive at a lodge and take a room. In October, November and the rhododendron season in April, however, High Camp and Low Camp can fill up by mid-afternoon. Guides usually phone ahead to reserve rooms for their groups, which is one practical advantage of trekking with an agency. If you arrive late at a full lodge, you may be offered dining-room floor space. Read booking tea houses in peak season for strategy.
Tea House Etiquette
A few habits make you a welcome guest. Eat dinner and breakfast at the lodge where you sleep. Order at the same time as your group to make life easier for the kitchen. Keep noise down after about 9 p.m., when most people are asleep. Take your boots off in the dining room if others have, and do not dry wet clothes directly on the stove unless the owner invites it. Our guide to tea house etiquette covers the rest.
Evenings in the Dining Room
Once the sun drops behind the ridge, the temperature falls fast and everyone gathers around the stove. Dinner is usually served around 6:30 to 7 p.m. Guides and porters eat after the trekkers, often in the kitchen. Evenings are spent playing cards, reading, comparing photos and talking about the next day's weather. By 8:30 most people are heading to bed, especially the night before the Base Camp hike. For a sense of the atmosphere, read evenings in a Mardi Himal tea house.
Staying Comfortable: Practical Tips
- Bring a sleeping bag and a liner for warmth and hygiene.
- Pack a headlamp for night-time trips to the toilet.
- Carry toilet paper, hand sanitiser and a small towel.
- Keep a power bank warm inside your sleeping bag overnight.
- Bring earplugs, as walls are thin and dogs bark at night.
- Pack a few favourite snacks from Pokhara, where they cost less.
Our full Mardi Himal packing list covers everything else.
Food and Lodging on Our Treks
On all our Mardi Himal packages, tea house accommodation and three meals a day are included while you trek, and hotel accommodation with breakfast is included in Pokhara and, on the 9-day version, Kathmandu. Your guide books rooms ahead, helps you order and makes sure you are eating enough to stay strong at altitude. See what is included on the 5-day Mardi Himal Trek from Pokhara, or compare with the 9-day Mardi Himal Trek from Kathmandu.