Pokhara Travel Guide

Introduction

Pokhara sits at 822 metres on the shore of Phewa Tal, with the Annapurna massif rising more than 7,000 metres directly behind it. The vertical relief from lakeside to Annapurna I is among the steepest on earth, which is why the mountains look impossibly close from a café table.

Getting there

Buddha Air and Yeti fly from Kathmandu several times a day in twenty-five minutes. Tourist buses take seven hours on a road that alternates between excellent and appalling. The new Pokhara International Airport handles domestic traffic; international arrivals remain limited.

Where to stay

Lakeside is the tourist strip and runs the length of the shore — the northern end is quieter and closer to the permit office, the southern end is calmer still. Ridge hotels above the town at Sarangkot trade convenience for a view you will remember.

Things to do

• Sarangkot at sunrise — thirty minutes by taxi for the most accessible 8,000-metre dawn anywhere.
• Phewa Tal by rowing boat, with a walk up to the World Peace Pagoda.
• Paragliding from Sarangkot; Pokhara is one of the world's premier sites.
• The International Mountain Museum, better than it sounds.
• Begnas Tal, twenty minutes east, for the lake without the strip.

Using Pokhara as a trekking base

ACAP permits and TIMS cards are issued at the Nepal Tourism Board office near Damside — bring passport photos and your passport. Trailheads at Nayapul, Kande and Phedi are ninety minutes away by road; Besisahar for the Annapurna Circuit is about four hours east.