How Pokhara changed face....
by josephescu
Before the construction of the Prithvi “highway”, getting to Pokhara from Kathmandu involved a 10 day pony trek, with numerous deadly river crossings along the way. When a Swiss explorer (Tom Hagen) visited in 1952, he found ambling buffalo carts and streets lined with brick Newari houses. Hints of these can still be seen in old Pokhara, just north of the Mahendra Pul bazaar.
Aside from the Swiss explorer, the first westerners to reach Pokhara were hippies in the 1970s. with its lakeshore setting, laid-back pace and plentiful supply of marijuana, Pokhara made a perfect end-point for the south-Asian overland trail. From these barefoot beginnings, it developed rapidly – by the 1980s, it had transformed into a modern mountain resort, to the extend that today Pokhara is basically “Thamel by water”.
Good travel agency (1) - Tamagi Travels & Tours
by Saagar
Tamagi Travels and tours is run by a family hailing from Tamagi village in the hills up from Phewa Tal. These folks are real locals. Especially valuable if you want to head up in the hills around the Pokhara Valley and the surroundings of Phewa Tal. Try them for a tour of Panchase and the Gurung villages here and further away.
They do ticketing, hotel bookings, rafting, trekking arrangements, hire vehicles etc.
They are a friendly crowd, keen to get your business and to know you. Say hello from Saagar from Norway, check for Vijaya Gurung and ask how MDO and DB are doing.
They also work with Pokhara Cyber.
The location is east side at the northern section of Lakeside Road, near Pokhara Cyber Cafe.
Devi's Falls
by illumina
If you have taken the scenic route to the World Peace Pagoda, and/or come back that way, it's only a short distance to these waterfalls. They are situated on the road to Butwal, just before the Tashi Ling Tibetan Village. The waterfall is where the Pardi Khola stream disappears underground.
According to the guidebooks, the name Devi's Falls is a corruption of David's Falls, David being a tourist who fell into the sinkhole and drowned. However, the local name is Patale Chhango, which apparently means Hell's Falls, so I wonder if Devi could actually be 'Devil'?!
It's not really an impressively high fall of water, more a series of small ones, but the sink hole, eroded into the limestone by the flow of water, is very deep indeed! I imagine that during the monsoon the flow of water is much greater, but when I was there in February it wasn't much more than a trickle.
The entrance is in between some stalls selling jewellry, and the entry fee is 20NPR.
Hike around Pokhara
by Pijlmans
Pokhara is a perfect operating base for hikes in the beautiful nature of Nepal.
You can e.g. climb the mountain Sarangkot and be amazed by the panorama, with the Himalaya at your feet.
Or a trip to the breathtaking Begnas Lake area, see the pictures.
Boating on Phewa Tal
by illumina
Walk down to the south of Phewa Tal, and you'll find plenty of places offering boats to rent. It should be about 200NPR per hour. It's a very relaxing way to spend an afternoon!
Take the boat over the lake to the island in the middle and visit the temple there - there's also a cafe.
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Pokhara
Locals on the Lake
View of the lake
Rakhi & Munu with a local child inside the Bus.
