Where is Pokhara Located?
Pokhara is a well famous city in Nepal. It is full of natural beauty with its surrounding gentle and clean. Pokhara is located in west part of Nepal which is 200 km from Capital city of Nepal, Kathmandu. We can say 200 km far from Tribhuvan International Airport. Pokhara is a part of Annapurna Region as well as land of Gurung people which is a big valley surrounding by Mountains and Hill. Learn why Pokhara is a best hub for tourist and why it welcomes so many tourists in Nepal?
Pokhara from Peace Stupa
How to reach Pokhara?
It’s a common question, so read the simple answer here. Once you land in Tribhuvan International Airport (Kathmandu), if you have booked your Pokhara trip with Travel Agency then they will assist you, if not and you have planned yourself then here some tips.
1) By Airplane:
From Kathmandu to Pokhara, you can go by airplane.
How to get Tickets for flight?
You can buy tickets online or if you are in Kathmandu city, then there are many travel companies from where you can buy ticket easily. Also, you can get help from your hotel staffs while you are in Kathmandu. Once you have got ticket, take taxi to domestic airport which is same airport (Tribhuvan International Airport) but different terminal (Taxi driver will help you) or you can use tourist vehicle from travel agency to reach airport. Once you are in airport, get boarding pass then fly to Pokhara. Once you have landed in Pokhara airport take taxi from there to reach the hotel which you have booked.
2) By Private vehicle:
The other option to reach Pokhara is by private vehicle.
How to get private vehicle for your Pokhara Trip?
Now a days, you can book private vehicle online. If you have already booked and once you are in Kathmandu, do contact with the company, if not booked then very easy to book. You can book from your hotel where you stay or there are many travel and vehicles companies. If you have your own private vehicle to get Pokhara then it takes around 6 hours. The benefit, if you use private vehicle is, you can stop on the way for lunch break, take pictures and look scenery. After 6 hours journey you will be in Pokhara. The driver will drop you to your booked accommodation place.
3) By Tourist Bus and public bus:
There is another way to reach Pokhara and that is by Tourist Bus or Public Bus.
How to get Tickets?
You can get tourist bus ticket in Kathmandu from your hotel through travel company. Tourist Bus park is in Sorakhutte which is very near from City Center (Thamel). From Thamel, you can walk to Bus Park and get bus. If you stay out of city center then take taxi to Bus Park and catch your bus.
If you love to travel by public bus then take taxi to New Bus Park for Pokhara public bus counter, buy tickets and start your journey to Pokhara. Kathmandu to Pokhara bus journey takes around 8 hours. You can see nice scenery on the way.
Tourist bus goes very near to lake side where many Hotel, Restaurant and travel company resides. It means, most of traveler stay in lake side. From tourist Bus Park to lake side you can walk with beautiful lake view. If you travel by public bus then they will stop in Pirthivi Chowk, once you get their then take taxi to your destination where you booked your Hotel.
Where to stay and eat?
If you are travelling to Pokhara then at first you need to find out where to stay.
How to find accommodation?
To find accommodations in Pokhara is very easy. There are some specific places to accommodate and they are Lake Side, Baidam, Pirthivi Chowk, Pame and other places. Lake Side is more famous because most of tourist Hotels, Resorts, lodges and Hostels are there. Lake Side is more near from Pokhara Airport and Tourist Bus Park.
In lake side there are many categories of hotel based on services and budget. Most of the hotels are listed on Google, Booking.com, Agoda.com and other booking site, so you can book very easily before you reach Pokhara. If you have not boked yet, go there and check you’re self and choose which is good for you. About food, you can find many restaurants (Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Thai and Mexican) as well as Nepali. In Lake Side and other parts of city you get those restaurant where you can get your desired taste. If you want to try Local taste then there are many local restaurants and street food places.
Things to See in Pokhara
Pokhara is a dream city for domestic and international travelers, who loves Nature and landscape. Travelers like to visit Pokhara and spend their holidays in the shade of the Mountains and residing in the lap of Phewa Lake. Here are the things that needs to be visited during Pokhara Trip.
Phewa Lake:
Phewa Lake is second biggest lake in Nepal. Which is located between valley of Sarankot Hills and peace stupa. The lake is big and clean with Hills in one side and Lake Side accommodations in the other side. The gentle air from the hills, creating free flowing tides with greenery reflecting in those lake water is just magnificent to see. You will just remain stalemate when you reach lake side and see the beauty incorporated by this big green lake.
Phewa lake
In middle of lake, there is a famous temple called Tal Barahi, which can be reached by boating only. Phewa Lake is famous for everybody because of boating with great mountains view. You can spend your time very easily when you are riding boat. During boating you can see the beauty of nature with Pokhara city as well as famous mountain views.
Note: Remember there is a walking trail created just near whole Phewa Lake to get close with this Lake. Pokhara Lake side is just a better, safer and cleaner place to walk in whole Nepal.
International Mountain Museum:
It’s another best place to see in Pokhara. From your Hotel, you go by taxi or walking. This is the place where you can see about Nepal Himalaya symbols with Climbing gears, trekking gears as well as people life style and culture in Moutains. If you are a mountain lover then I recommend you to visit once.
Davi’s Falls and Gupteshwor cave:
It’s very near from lake side, you can reach on foot or by local bus or by taxi and private vehicle. Both places are very near. Davi’s Falls is famous water fall in Pokhara and in entire Nepal. The water comes from Phewa Lake and drop down deep in to the land. The name remained after a woman called Davi went on missing while she was swimming in this falls.
Also there is a nice wishing pool and garden which is calling for travelers. After visiting Davi’s falls, you should visit Gupteshwor Cave which is exactly opposite of the road to Davi’s fall. It’s very long 120m cave. The half part of cave is bit wide where there is a statue of god Shiva and other gods. Religious people worship for good, as called good karma. Ending half part is very narrow and difficult to walk. Once you been in bottom, you can see water which is from David Falls.The rocks on the roof of the cave while descending down to cave is another thing to watch.
Peace Stupa:
Peace Stupa
The most highlight of Pokhara visit includes Peace Stupa. It is located on south west hills from Pokhara. Here you can see big white stupa with Buddha’s eye which is 115 feet tall and 344 feet in diameter. It is the beautiful place which provides mountain views of Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, fishtail and many other Mountains as well as views of Pokhara valley with Lake View. It’s very famous for meditation and best place for explore as its name suggests.
Sarankot Hills:
It is the fascinating place to visit during trip to Pokhara is Sarankot. It’s located on north part of pokhara hill. The height of Sarankot is 1592 m which is more famous to see sunrise Himalayas view with nice landscape. From Sarankot, you can see Mt Dhaulagiri 8167m , Mt. Annapurna 8091m with fishtail, Annapurna 2nd , Gangapurna with many other famous mountains. From Pokhara you can do day hike or can go by taxi to Sarankot Hill which is a famous place for Paragliding. If you have some extra day, you can stay some days over their where you can find accommodations easily.
Image from Sarankot
Some other Destinations and activities to do in Pokhara:
Beside these things, you can visit many other famous place like Tibetan refugee Camp, Bindabasini Temple, Seti River, Mahendra Cave. In Pokhara you can do other very famous sporty adventure like paragliding, Seti River rafting, zip Flying, ultralight flight, hot ballon fly with day hiking too.
Because of those things it’s very famous for domestic travelers like Student for Educational Tour, Honey Moon Tour, Family Tour, Holiday Tour, Research Tour and many other Tour. Once you are in Pokhara you can spend your holidays very enjoyable and happily without knowing how many days it has been spent.
After visiting Pokhara you can do some other activities such as trekking in Annapurna Himalaya, if you have still time, if not back to Kathmandu and fly back to your next destination.
