Pokhara Things to Do

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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.

On your way up to the view point, don't ignore Sarangkot Village. There are some pretty houses and terraced fields, and lots of friendly locals to sell you food and drink, and trinkets should you want any - there are lots of local handicrafts to choose from, the yak's wool blankets in particular are lovely (we didn't buy one from here, but did get one from Lakeside later!).

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At an altitude of 1592m (5500ft), this mountainside village lies to the north-west of Pokhara, a 2hour trek or a 45 min taxi/scooter ride away. It is best known for its panoramic views of the Annapurna range, which many people come to see at sunrise. Sadly it was very cloudy the day we went up to the top of Sarangkot, but the views were stunning nonetheless - we just caught only glimpses of Machhapuchhare through the clouds!

The best viewpoint is from the hill fort right at the top - you'll have to leave your transportation just below the village if you've come by car or scooter, and walk up through the houses and paddy fields of the village to get to it. Entry fee is 25NPR (which goes to conservation of the area according to the ticket) - the tower is a still occupied by the military, but walk around and you'll see a viewing platform. On the way out there is a small temple too (3rd photo).

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About 6km north of Lakeside, in a suburb just outside Old Pokhara called Batulechaur is this cave - pay 20NPR to get in, plus another 40NPR for a lamp (unless of course you've remembered to bring your own!), and you can then walk down the steps in the second photograph to find yourself in a series of low caves. The footing is a little unsteady, hence the need for a lamp, but once in the next cave, look up at the ceiling, and wonder at the hundreds if not thousands of horseshoe bats clinging to it!

There are signs up asking visitors to be quiet, as noise disturbs the bats, and I did get a little irritated with local visitors who were being very loud indeed, charging up and down.... however, I was very grateful for their presence a little later, as the alternative exit to the cave is a bit of a climb, and I'm not a very good rock-climber! In fact I had a bit of a tumble (just scratches and bruises thankfully!), and a group of lads helped me up. The exit is very narrow and you have to squeeze through on your stomach 'like a snake', as the Nepali boys described it to me! You'll probably be thankful to hear that you can just turn around and go out the way you came in!

We got to the cave by renting a scooter.

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Founded in the 17th century, this temple is dedicated to the goddess Durga, the war-like aspect of Shiva's consort Parvati. Devotees worship the saligram or ammonite fossil placed here in her name.

All the people here were really friendly - including the woman collecting the parking fee, who didn't charge us since we were only on a small scooter!

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Across the road from Devi's Falls is this cave, which contains a stalagmite which is worshipped as a Shiva lingam, and has a small temple built around it, inside the cave (No photography allowed). The entry ticket for this is 30NPR, but this does not cover what lies beyond... for an extra 20NPR, you can descend into further tunnels, to emerge in a large cavern behind Devi's Falls.

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Within the park surrounding Devi's Falls is a small well containing an image of Manakamana Bhagawati, the wish-fulfilling goddess. You can swap Nepali rupee notes for coins (hardly used as currency today), and attempt to throw one onto the statue - more difficult that it looks, hardly any of the Nepali tourists we saw managed it! If you succeed.... maybe your wish will be granted...

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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.