One of The most Beautiful Places - "Pokhara"

Pokhara is the third largest city in Nepal. It is the starting point for most of the treks in the Annapurna area. It is considered by many to be the most beautiful place in the whole wide world.

Getting There

You can travel to Pokhara from the capital Kathmandu using the tourist buses that are readily available or the local microbuses or buses which leave Kathmandu for Pokhara almost every 15 minutes. It takes about 8 hours.
Daily Flights operates from Kathmandu to Pokhara and cost roughly $100 each way and take only 30 minutes from capital. They have the bonus of giving you a bird's eye view of the countryside and of the panoramic mountains themselves.

Must See

Sarangkot

The perfect pre-trek warm-up. Head up Sarankot in the late afternoon (be prepared, it's steep and hard work) find yourselves a warm guest house before sunset, go up the top for sunset and again for sunrise... you won't be disappointed. The road is rough, but traversable. Great views, spectacular images and a great way to get a taste of what it's like to be trekking.

World Peace Pagoda (Shanti Stupa)

Built about 16 years ago atop a hill overlooking Phewa Tal, the Stupa offers a great place to see the mountains and the sunset over Pokhara. It can be accessed by hiring a boat across the lake and following a pretty good track upward, climbing up through the forest (but watch out for leeches during the monsoon)or by foot from the road that passes Devi's Fall, turning right at the end of Chhorepatan. Taxis can now drive up to within 15 minutes' walk of the Stupa - ask them to use the Chhorepatan road, which is shorter and therefore should be a little cheaper than the Kalimati road.

Devi's Falls

Devi's Fall is a small waterfall that disappears underground at a depth of 100 feet for a distance of 500m and is named after a Swiss lady, Mrs Devis, who was washed away when strong water came from Phewa Lake in 1961. The falls are at their best in August and September but don't get too close.

Barahi Temple

Located on an island in Nepal's Phewa Lake, stands the Barahi Temple. A visit to the island near the center of Lake Phewa is often included on tour packages in the area, and is certainly a must for anyone touring Pokhara. Set in stunning surroundings, many find Barahi Temple a peaceful place to relax, especially after canoing across the glistening waters of Phewa Lake. Its i Must Visit in Pokhara

BindaBasini Temple

Gupteshwar Mahadev

There are two parts. First parts is about 40 meters long, there is a natural cave and temple of Load Shiva. In this first part you are not allowed to take photos. Next parts start after temple which way goes to the down side if Devis fall, the distance about 100 meters from second entrance, from there you can see the view of Davis Fall as well as natural rocks, Electric lights are managed for the convenience of the visitor. After the Lord Shiva temple on second parts of this Cave you are allowed to take photos. Second parts is closed during 4 month of Monsoon (June, July, August and September)

Must Do

Boating in Fewa Lake

Fewa is top destination for tourist as its in the center of the city and is surrounded with most of the city’s finest guest houses, pubs and restaurants. The lake itself is spread about little over 10 square kilometer. Most of the tourist go from the starting of the lake to the end of it. There are no electric boats available, you’ll have to hire wooden boats. You can take the boat yourself of hire the boatman for a little more money. There’s a hindu temple in the center of the lake which attract huge religious tourists every day that temple is Barahi Temple (as discussed earlier).

Paragliding

Paragliding in Pokhara is one of the things you should not miss. It is known world over for its convenience and the uniqueness. The tandem flights usually start from a small hill called Sarangkot 30 minutes from the city and lands in the bank of Fewa Lake. There are more than 10 companies that operate paragliding in the city. You can also go for solo flights if you have a license and insurance.

Cycling

There are a lot of bicycle and motorcycle rentals available in the city. You can rent motorbikes for 500 NRS i.e. 6 USD per hour and bicycles for less than half a dollar. The best route for cycling is west of the city along with the bank of the Fewa lake. The route leads you to one of the most beautiful villages of Nepal.

Skyzip

If you’re visiting Nepal after next month or so then you might just get a chance to do the fastest Skyline in the world. In their own words, you’ll be standing on the platform overlooking the majestic Himalayas and a mind-boggling 2000 feet vertical drop. As you jump it goes own in the speed of 160kmph. The zip line is 1.6 meter length and 56% inclined.As I said, its not open for public yet but the construction is complete and is expected to open by next month.

Trekking

You can do trekking in Pokhara itself but Pokhara is the main hub for the trekking in Annapurna region which is one of the most popular trekking destination in the world. The shortest trek from here can be completed within 4 days and the longest goes up to 2 months. A lot of tourist who come for trekking in Nepal start their trekking here and take rest in the city after completing their trekking. There are hundreds of trekking agencies in the city.

Where to Stay

Fish Tail Lodge

Fishtail Lodge is located on an island in Phewa Lake. A raft comes and goes between the island and the main land constantly. It is tied to both shores. A man pulls the rope and the raft moves between the piers. Also there are several boats to serve. When big groups with many luggage's come, boats are used for recent customers. The reception and restaurant building can be reached by some steps from the pier on the island. The rooms are behind the plants covering whole area when reception is behind you. There is a pool and a souvenir shop here. Rooms are small cottages hidden in the garden, and the garden has hundreds of different flowers. All rooms have a small special garden in front. In short, a Luxury, Spa Resort.

Places Around

Lumbini

Lumbini was where the Buddha was Born & lived until the age of 29. Lumbini has a number of temples, including the Mayadevi temple, and others under construction. Also located here is the Puskarini or Holy Pond where the Buddha's mother took the ritual dip prior to his birth and where he, too, had his first bath, as well as the remains of Kapilvastu palace. At other sites near Lumbini, earlier Buddhas were, according to tradition, born, achieved ultimate awakening and finally relinquished earthly form.

It takes about 3~4 hours by bus.

Everest Experience

The Himalaya is the youngest yet highest mountain range in the world and forms a natural border for Nepal in the northern front. For Nepalese these mountains are the sacred abode of the gods but they also continue to captivate millions around the world due to their sheer majesty and beauty; tempting thousands to attempt at conquering its peaks. Those who actually reach the Himalaya will tell you that the experience can indeed be very humbling.
Of the fourteen peaks higher than 8000 meters, eight are in Nepal. Although there is no denying that walking up and down the hills for a close up view of the Himalaya is very much worth the effort, this we have to confess is not for everyone, due to the physical and time requirements. Everest Experience is meant especially for those who don't want to leave Nepal without touching the sacred and majestic Himalaya.

To get the best of the weather conditions in the mountains where strong winds start blowing gathering clouds and raising snow plumes which block the view as the day progresses ahead, mountain flights take place early in the morning. Everest Experience is not something you want to miss; regardless of how late it was last night or how cold it is outside.

Upon receiving the green signal from the air traffic controller, the commander and co-pilot of the Beech craft 1900D, the safest plane operating in the domestic sector, start the engines to take you on the ride of your life. The flight heads north east upon take off and soon after the emerald green or golden paddy fields below, depending on the time of the year, start giving way to green sub alpine forests.
Less than ten minutes after being airborne, one gets the first glimpse of the snowy white peaks on the far left while below the hill slopes acquire a rocky rugged and barren look, like empty landscapes from another world. Within the next few minutes one is already flying above the snowy outlines of the greater Himalaya at an altitude of 25000 feet above the ground.

The first ones to come to view are the peaks straight north of Kathmandu Valley, starting with the 8013m high Shisha Pangma, the 14th highest mountain in the world, which is actually located in Tibet, a few kilometers from the border. Then come a series of several smaller peaks beginning with Dorje Lakpa (6966m) which looks like the figure eight and is located on the eastern edge of Langtang National Park, followed by Phurbi Ghyachu (6637m) on its right, the 5970m Choba Bhamare which remains unconquered, Gauri Shankar (7134m) named after Lord Shiva and his consort, Melungtse (7181m) all part of the Rolwaling range.

For most distinguishing one peak from another doesn't come easy. But Everest is something else. Known simply as Peak XV until 1856, the Great Trigonometric Survey of India established the first published the height of Everest. As Nepal and Tibet were both closed to foreigners the British Surveyor General of India at that time named it Everest after Sir George Everest who measured its height and pinpointed its location. The local names of the world’s highest peak though pay tribute to her majesty; the Nepali name Sagarmatha means "mother of the skies" while the Tibetan name Chomolongma means 'mother of the universe". In 1999 Everest was found to have grown by at least six inches since the last survey bringing its total height to 8850m possibly due to the same plate tectonic movements that raised the Himalaya from the bed of the Tethys Sea.

Jutting up behind Lhotse (8516m) and Nuptse (7855m) Everest is as distinct as is it should be for a mountain of its status. Even from a distance of 5 nautical miles one can clearly see why thousands are obsessed with the thought of conquering it. While most mountaineers still use the southeast ridge on the Nepal side considered to be technically easier to reach the summit, the northeast ridge which takes off from Tibet is also increasingly becoming popular.
Those who trek up to the Everest Base Camp located at height of 5380m may proudly state that they have been there but viewing the Himalaya from onboard a mountain flight is another experience altogether. What would on the ground take days of travel can easily viewed in a matter of minutes and from within the safety and comfort of the Beechcraft 1900D.

The duration of this flight is about one (1) hour.