Pokhara Favorites

Favorite thing: Must see places in Pokhara

· Fewa Lake

· Mahendra Cave

· World Peace Pagoda

· Gupteshwor Mahadev Cave

· Devi's fall

· Barahi Temple

· Begnas Lake

· Bindabasini Temple

· Seti River and Gorge

·Jangchub Choeling Monastery

· Museums

Fondest memory: It was in Sarangkot.

Favorite thing: There are lots of internet cafes in Pokhara, and along the Lake Side there is quite a concentration. Try Pokhara Cyber Café which is good, honest and the computers are in good and updated shape. Cheap. They do a range of services for theri customers; travel arrangements etc, plus the normal auxillary computer services, printing, fax etc. It is located on the right hand side near Standard Chartered Bank up north on Lakeside.

Favorite thing: 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”.

Favorite thing: The book "Pokhara: A Valley in the Himalayas" Nabin Publications, author Prakash A. Raj, 1993, is a very good introduction to activities, geography and society in the Pokhara Valley. About 70 pages it has the contents of a guidebook but as written by a local it goes beyond the minimalist info of a busy travel author. A good book that I regularly consult while in Nepal. At only 150 Rs this is good value for your money.

Fondest memory: Pokhara stands at 884 metres above sea level, 700 metres lower than Kathmandu.
From here, the Himalaya is indeed an impressive and mighty mountain range, and even if along the lakeside is where tourists mainly stay, you can still breathe a particular atmosphere I guess the same it was in '70s...

Favorite thing: As you pour a can of hot water over your head you can enjoy the views! I tried to limit my Hot showers as the hot water is made my burning wood and the wood comes from cutting down trees which causes erosion. So it's just something to think about while you are enjoying the views.

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Favorite thing: The scenery. Mountains and lakes

Fondest memory: Eating breakfast by sunrise, with the view of Annapurna Range from the Peace-pagoda-chai-stall.

Favorite thing: These white birds were everywhere in Pokhara in the early morning, I spotted these on the way to the bus station, still roosting! I think they are cattle egrets, with their long necks retracted.