Mardi Himal & Annapurna Base Camp Combined Trek

Mardi Himal and Annapurna Base Camp share physical trail infrastructure at Landruk and Chomrong, and several source operators explicitly describe combining them as a realistic single-trip extension rather than two separate holidays — this itinerary is that combination, scoped to a tighter 11 days rather than the 15-17 days some sources mention for a more leisurely combined version. The first five days follow the standard Mardi Himal ascent and Base Camp summit push exactly as in Strategy 1, descending afterward to Landruk rather than Siding. From Landruk, rather than finishing at Ghandruk as Strategy 4 does, the trail continues into the Modi Khola gorge via Chomrong — the gateway village to the Annapurna Sanctuary — and climbs through Bamboo, Dovan, Himalaya, Deurali, and Machhapuchhre Base Camp to Annapurna Base Camp itself (4,130 m), a dramatically different landscape from Mardi's forested ridges: a glacial amphitheatre ringed by Annapurna I, Annapurna South, Gangapurna, and the reverse, close-up north face of Machhapuchhre already seen from a completely different angle days earlier. The descent retraces the Sanctuary trail to the natural hot springs at Jhinu Danda, a genuinely well-earned soak after eleven days and two separate high-altitude climaxes, before the final drive back to Pokhara. This is unambiguously the most physically demanding itinerary in this document and should only be attempted by fit, well-prepared trekkers.