POKHARA

Pokhara is known as the tourism capital of Nepal and the gateway to the Annapurna massif in the Himalayas. Most people come to Pokhara for trekking, but there is so much else to see and do here. This includes a wide variety of adventure sports like river rafting, para-gliding, bungee jumping, ATV tours, and more. All of this, combined with Lake Fewa, where you can paddle board, kayak, boat, and fish, it really is a destination to visit in itself.  Our six weeks here was packed full even though we didn’t get to do any trekking because the rainy season had started right as we arrived. We are planning a return trip for early next spring to trek and visit some of the lovely friends we made here.

Being budget travelers, we opted to take the $15 bus ride from Kathmandu to Pokhara, over the 25 minute, $100 flight. We paid a little extra to take the sofa bus which has very comfortable seats and air conditioning. When booking a bus ticket, be aware that not all the buses have A/C and comfortable seats. Due to a landslide that closed the highway, our trip to Pokhara was delayed by a day, and it ended up taking 18 hours instead of 7, on the following day. It made for a long trip, but it wasn’t a big deal. The bus driver made plenty of stops for food and restroom breaks, and we got to see the beautiful countryside. The bus was also very comfortable and conducive to napping. The bus was packed with a conglomeration of Nepalis and Western tourists on the bus, including a group of exuberant young Russians that brought their own Vodka and Pepsi onto the bus. It actually turned out to be quite an interesting trip. The “highway” (2 lane dirt & gravel with intermittent paving) was a massive traffic jam in many places. There were several cars with wedding parties trying to get through and the other drivers would try to pull aside and make way for. And it turned out to be a way for some of the rural farmers to make a little extra money. We saw people hurrying to cut up cucumbers, watermelons, etc. to sell when traffic came to a standstill. A young man boarded our bus with bags full of fresh cucumber spears sprinkled with chili to sell. I bought a bag for fifteen cents and it was way more than Aaron and I could finish.  Unfortunately, our bus did not pull into the bus station until after midnight. The taxi drivers knew a bus was coming in and were lined up waiting. Here we were late at night, in a city we had never been to, not knowing how far it was to our guesthouse, so we agreed to the 1,000 rupees the taxi driver quoted us. We knew that was way over priced, but in the end it worked out to only $7.63 and we just wanted to get to our hotel after a really long day.

As slow travelers, we were in Pokhara for six weeks and stayed in three locations around the city. All great, and highly recommended. Our first stay was at the Namman Guest House, located close to the lakeside and near many good restaurants. Our room was great and the family was so nice. They made sure we had everything we needed and made us feel like part of their family. The family lives on the first floor. The second and third floors each have four rooms plus a TV room with sofas. We had the large rooftop room with a wonderful view. Bimal, the owner, even gave us a ride to the next place we were staying! We ended up staying here again at the end of our time in Pokhara. Our next stay was at The Lotus Apartments. It was located a few blocks farther away from the action, but turned out to be right where I needed to be. The apartment was new, modern and fully equipped. Again, run by a very nice family. Thankfully it was located next door to the International Medicare Clinic. I arrived in Nepal with a cough, which turned into walking pneumonia. I received the best care from Dr. Mukesh, and I was so glad he was right next door because I had to have breathing treatments twice a day for seven days. The third place we stayed in the city was the Urban Boutique,a new, modern hotel located in the lakeside area. Our room was spacious, comfortable and had a large balcony that gave us a great view of the lake, and free breakfast included. This was a great place to stay and close to many good restaurants and the lakeside promenade.

Pokhara is much smaller and much more laid back than Kathmandu, while still having that exotic flair. I loved the incense, the brightly colored prayer flags, and the sounds of singing bowls, bells, and cymbals that you can hear when walking down the streets. Pokhara also sits on the lakeside of Fewa Lake. There is a nice promenade on the lakeside that runs almost two miles. It is lined with cafes, bars, fruit stands, boat rental booths, and even Pokhara Disneyland. They have the fastest spinning Ferris Wheel I have ever seen. It was actually scary to watch! At night and on weekends the lakeside really comes alive with live music, cultural shows and the vendors turn out with their carts selling balloons, cotton candy, roasted peanuts, toys, etc. We found ourselves down on the lakeside a lot. One afternoon when we were walking the promenade after lunch, a group of Hari Krishnas were coming down the sidewalk. They were dressed in their orange toga like outfits, beating on a tambourine and a drum, while dancing and singing the “Hari Krishna” song. They were picking up quite a following behind them. People of all ages, locals and tourists, were joining in on this little parade. The kids were the funniest to watch. I had never seen anything quite like this outside of a movie and I found it delightful and hilarious. We actually saw a lot of interesting things and people, some of it way out there, but all good natured and harmless. 

I have to mention that there are a lot of dogs in Pokhara, both pets and strays. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference. Not all, but most of the strays we saw were very well cared for by the locals. They were well fed, good looking and friendly. The streets are lined with water bowls and food is put out regularly by businesses and residents. I really liked that. In SE Asia I had noticed that all the stray dogs and cats live at the Buddhist temples and are fed and cared for by the monks. But here in Nepal it is taken on by the communities.

One of the first things we did was head up to the Annapurna Cable Car. This is a must do activity on a clear day. The Annapurna Cable Car is a short taxi ride away from the lakeside area. It costs $9 for a round-trip ticket for foreigners, and so worth it. Prepare to have your mind blown as you glimpse the Annapurna massif of the Himalayas as you near the top of the ridge. I can’t explain the feeling that came over me as I gazed at the mountains. It was a combination of joy, awe, and overwhelm at the magnitude of their beauty. When you’re on top, you can walk around and take in views of the mountain range on one side and the Pokhara valley on the other. There is a temple at the top you can visit and you can also walk around the village of Sarangkot. We stopped at a nice coffee shop with rooftop deck that gave us sweeping views of Annapurnas peaks and provided an epic spot to drink our coffee.

Our next outing was to the Tal Barahi Temple. Being located on a small island in Fewa Lake, the temple can only be reached by boat. This temple is the most important religious Hindu monument in Pokhara. It is visited by multitudes of devotees and tourists, especially during October when the two week long harvest Festival of Dashain is celebrated. We rented a small wooden boat called a “doonga” and were rowed over and back for only a few dollars. We went on a Saturday, not knowing that Saturdays are very significant to Hindus. Because of this, the small island really had a lot going on. There were two small temples with people lined up to go inside, areas to feed the fish, and a couple of booths selling items for offerings and souvenirs. Best of all there was a DJ and I loved the festive music being played and seeing the locals dance. Everyone was smiling and happy and very welcoming.

Every evening, at 7 pm on the lakeside, you can see the Aarti ceremony, also known as the ceremony of light. This is a religious ritual performed by three Hindu priests dressed in red and gold. Aarti is a series of venerations using ringing bells, flames, wicks soaked in ghee, and incense to attract love, energy, and blessings from the Deities. The Aarti music eulogizes specific deities and is delightful to hear. Before long most of the Hindu devotees were dancing with their arms above their heads. This hour long ceremony is free to the public and takes place every night, year round in many locations across Nepal and India. Even though it was pretty crowded, the atmosphere and the people were fantastic. We discovered it by accident and feel so lucky we were able to see it.

For our next outing we caught a taxi across town to visit two interesting places. Originating in the Himalayas, the Seti River has cut a chasm so deep through the city of Pokhara, that you really can’t see it, and don’t even realize a river is there. We went to the Seti River Park where they pump the water up through an aqueduct that you can walk across to see the rivers milky white water. Also known as the Milk River, the Seti picks up minerals that turn the water white. From the bridge you can also look down into the chasm the river cuts through town and see that it is only six and a half feet wide, but 197 feet deep. We met the nicest elderly gentleman working here, Ram B. Karki. We took pictures with him and he gave us each a blessing in the form of a red dot on our foreheads known as a tika. As he had us sign his guest book, he showed us many pictures of tourists he had his picture taken with over the last 40 years. Meeting someone like him and seeing the joy he takes in his job, and in meeting new people, really made the place feel special.

After leaving the river gorge park, we walked one block up to the Royal Gurkha Museum. This surprising museum is three levels of photos, storyboards, memorabilia, and relics that tell the fascinating history of the Gurkhas. Originating in the eighth century, the Gurkhas were soldiers known to be naturally warlike and fierce. In 1814, they faced the British in the Anglo-Nepalese War. The British were so impressed by them that in 1816 they were made part of the British Army. “The Royal Gurkha’s” have been serving worldwide, with distinction for over 200 years now. Their motto is “It is better to die than to be a coward”. We often saw groups of  Gurkha hopefuls in training, as they ran through the streets of Pokhara in formation. Over 1,000 apply each year, but only 140 are chosen. Demonstrating their grit and determination, while we were here in Pokhara, a former Gurkha that had lost both his legs in Afghanistan, became the first double, above the knee, amputee to summit Mount Everest.

I found the history of the Gurkhas so interesting. Chief of Staff Field Marshall Sam Manekshaw summed up the Gurkhas very well when he stated that “If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or he is a Gurkha”. We found a great little craft brewery that had some really tasty beers, and we also sampled a Nepalese scotch called “Gurkhas and Guns”. Because of the Gurkhas being part of the British Army, they have close ties with Great Britain and the Gurkhas even do some training in the Scottish Highlands. The producer of this scotch has peat sent over from Scotland, and special barrels to age the scotch in. There are actually several of these scotches here in Nepal. They seem to be highly sought after and not cheap either.

We also visited the Devil’s Falls and the Gupteshwor Mahadev Cave, which are both supposed to be epic during the rainy season. We were there at the beginning of the rainy season so not enough rain had fallen yet to make the falls epic. The cave made for a nice visit as there are shrines inside, and lovely spiral steps that take you down into the earth, but not much water here either as the water from the falls run through this cave. The cave attracts many Hindu devotees year round so go early to avoid the crowds. Even though I found these rather anti-climatic, I did enjoy seeing another part of the town and the daily activities of the area.

We always start our day early, to avoid the heat and the crowds. On our next outing we took an early taxi to the Lord Shiva Pumdikot from the city center, which took about 25 minutes. The handsome statue of Lord Shiva is visible from Pokhara as it sits on a hilltop at about 4,900 feet. The Hindu temple itself is 108 feet high and the Lord Shiva statue on top is 51 feet high, but looks much bigger when you’re standing next to it. It really is impressive and the beauty of the statue combines with it’s natural surroundings. This is an active temple that sees many daily worshippers and religious activities. The grounds surrounding the temple are beautiful with an enormous golden statue of Shiva’s bull, “Nandi”, plus other statues. On a clear day you get fantastic views of the snow covered Himalayas, Pokhara, and Fewa Lake. Instead of taking a taxi back, we did a hike down, stopping first at the World Peace Pagoda.

A very scenic 30 minute hike from the Lord Shiva statue is the World Peace Pagoda. This is a buddhist monument to world peace built by the Nipponzan-Myohoji, a Japanese religious movement and activist group actively engaged in the peace movement worldwide. They have built 80 of these pagodas around the world so far, two here in Nepal. The gardens surrounding the pagoda are beautiful and full of blooming flowers and shady places to rest. The pagoda itself is 117 feet tall and pure white with four large golden statues of the Buddha that sit in recesses on the second tier. We were surprised that no videography is allowed here, only photos. There were many signs warning against making Tik-Tok videos and being loud and disruptive. There were also guards there to help you remember. This has been a big problem in the past.

Hiking through the countryside keeps us in touch with nature. We hiked through hills and tall green forests, and past farms with large fields of grains and pastures. It was really lovely. From the pagoda, we took a trail that led us through The Queen’s Forest and down to the lakeside. It was a great hike and mostly in the shade. At the lakeside we had a really good lunch at a small, local place called “Typical Restaurant”. Then we hired a small row-boat right there at the restaurant for $2.50. To our surprise the young man that rowed us across the lake, back to the Pokhara lakeside promenade, was the same young man that cooked our food and served it to us. It was a great day!

In the end, our original plans for Pokhara had to be set aside for another visit. We didn’t get to do a trek into the Himalayas or go para-gliding like we had planned. The weather and my illness got in the way. I could not believe our time in Pokhara went by so fast. We had found our favorite spots to eat, go for coffee, or craft beer, and discovered many new and delicious dishes. A place to have our laundry done, our favorite stores, and had made some nice friends. We also fit in a yoga and meditation retreat, a cooking class, and a four day getaway. Pokhara was fantastic! The people there are friendly, welcoming, and have a tranquil and easy going air about them. It is an easy place to spend some time. I found it very calming and relaxing there.  

Even though we had a really long day getting from Kathmandu to Pokhara, we decided to take the bus back to Kathmandu when our six weeks in Pokhara were up. We used Baba Adventures sofa bus to get to and back from Pokhara. There are lots of bus companies but we found this one to be great. The return trip took exactly the estimated time of 7 hours and that was with stopping for lunch and two additional breaks. Our time in Pokhara did not go as we had planned originally, but that has turned out to be a blessing as we are already planning our next trip back.

CHECK OUT OUR POKHARA VIDEO!