|
Welcome to Pokhara. A beautiful tourist city in
Nepal with great Himalayas views. The population of Pokhara is about
300,000, located in central part of Nepal at 28.25°N, 83.99°E,
198 km west of capital city Kathmandu. Pokhara is the third largest city in Nepal after Kathmandu and Biratnagar. Pokhara has been divided into 18 wards by
Pokhara Sub-Metropolitan City office for administration. It is the
starting point for most of the
treks in the Annapurna area. It is considered by many to be the most
beautiful place in the whole world. Pokhara is the Headquarters of
Kaski District,
Gandaki Zone and the Western Development Region. It is also one of the
most popular tourist destinations of the country. The road distance of
Pokhara from different city of Nepal are available on
http://pokharalodge.com.np/howtogopokhara.htm .
Pokhara is situated in the northwestern
corner of the Pokhara Valley, which is a widening of the Seti Gandaki
valley. The Seti River and its tributaries have dug impressive canyons
into the valley floor, which are only visible from higher viewpoints or
from the air. To the east of Pokhara is the municipality of Lekhnath, a
recently established town in the valley.
In no other place do mountains rise so quickly. In this area, within 30
km, the elevation rises from 1,000 m to over 7,500 m. Due to this sharp
rise in altitude the area of Pokhara has one of the highest precipitation
rates of the country (over 4,000 mm/year). Even within the city there is a
noticeable difference in the amount of rain between the south of the city
by the lake and the north at the foot of the mountains.
The climate is sub-tropical but due to the elevation the temperatures are
moderate: the summer temperatures average between 25–35 °C, in winter
around 5–15 °C.
In the south the city borders on Phewa Tal (lake) (4.4 km² at an elevation
of about 800 m above sea level), in the north at an elevation of around
1,000 m the outskirts of the city touch the base of the Annapurna mountain
range. From the southern fringes of the city 3 eight-thousanders (Dhaulagiri,
Annapurna, Manaslu) and, in the middle of the Annapurna range, the
Machapuchhre (Nepali language: Machhapuchhre: 'Fishtail') with close to
7,000 m can be seen. This mountain dominates the northern horizon of the
city and its name derives from its twin peaks, not visible from the south.
The porous underground of the Pokhara valley favours the development of
caves of which three prominent ones can be found within the city:
Mahendra,
Bat and
Gupteswor. In the south of the
city, a tributary of the Seti coming from Fewa Tal disappears at
Patale Chhango (Nepali for Hell's
Falls, also called Devi's or David's Falls, after someone who
supposedly fell into the falls) into an underground gorge, to reappear 500
metres further south.
Pokhara spans 8 km from north to south and 6 km from east to west but,
unlike Kathmandu, it is quite loosely built up and still has much green
space. The Seti Gandaki flowing through the city from north to south
divides the city roughly in two halves with the down-town area of
Chipledunga in the middle, the old town centre of Bagar in the north and
the tourist district of Lakeside (Baidam) in the south all lying on the
western side of the river. The gorge through which the river flows is
crossed at five points, the major ones are (from north to south): K.I.
Singh Pul, Mahendra Pul and Prithvi Highway Pul. The eastern side of town
is mainly residential.
About half of all tourists visiting Pokhara are there for the start or end
of a trek to the Annapurna Base Camp and Mustang.
Lake Phewa was slightly enlarged by damming. It is in danger of silting up
because of the inflow during the monsoon. The outflowing water is
partially used for hydro power. The dam collapsed in the late 1970s and
has been rebuilt. The power plant is located about 100 m below at the
bottom of the Phusre Khola gorge. Water is also diverted for irrigation
into the southern Pokhara valley.
The eastern Pokhara Valley receives irrigation water through a canal
running from a reservoir by the Seti in the north of the city. Phewa lake
is also used for commercial fishing. The tourist area is along the north
shore of the lake (Baidam, Lakeside and Damside). It is mainly made up of
little shops, hotels, restaurants and bars. The larger hotels can be found
on the southern and south-eastern fringes of the city, from where the view
of the mountains is best. To the east of the valley, in Lekhnath, are
several smaller lakes, the largest being Begnas Tal and Rupa Tal. Begnas
Tal is also known for its fishery projects. There are no beaches in the
valley, but one can rent boats in Phewa and Begnas Tal.
Pokhara has become a major tourist hub of Nepal, more than making up for
the loss of its trading importance. The city offers a combination of
nature and culture and is mostly known as the gateway to the trekking
route "Round Annapurana", which is usually a trek of 25 days.
Pokhara is quite a modern city with only few tourist attractions in the
town itself. Most interesting is the old centre in the north of the city (Bagar,
Purano Bazar) where many old shops and warehouses in the Newari style can
still be found. Although more seldom, mule caravans still arrive there
from Mustang.
Temples worth visiting in the older part of town are
Bindhyabasini
temple and Bhimsen temple. Another temple,
Barahi
temple, is located on an island in the Phewa lake, accessible only by
boats.
The modern commercial city centre at
Chiple
Dhunga and
Mahendrapul
(now called Bhimsen Chowk, named after a Shahid (Martyr) in Jana-aandolan
II, April, 2006) is halfway between the lake and
Purano Bazar, the old centre. Apart from this there are several
subcentres in other parts of town: in the north in
Bagar, in the
south between Prithvi Chok and Srijana Chok (mainly hardware stores), and
in the east, on the other side of the Seti, in Ram Bazar.
Phewa lake in 1982
On a hill overlooking Phewa Tal from the south is the
World Peace
Stupa (at 1,113 m) QTVR built in 1996 with a view of the lake, across
the city and of the snow peaked mountain ranges of
Manaslu,
Annapurna and Dhaulagiri Himal.
The best viewpoint of Pokhara is
Sarangkot
(1,600 m) and Thulakot (in Lekhnath a part of famous Royal Trek from where
four lakes Phewa, Begnas, Khaste and Dipang and whole Annapurna range can
be seen) to the west of the city. Paths and a road lead almost to the top
of Sarangkot with an excellent view of the mountains and the city. On the
summit of Sarankot there is a Buddhist stupa/monastery, which also
attracts many tourists.
The major touristic attractions of Pokhara are its scenic views in and
around town and the cable cars. Many of them are not mentioned in guides
or maps. The Seti Gandaki (White Gandaki) and its tributaries have created
spectacular gorges in and around the whole city. The Seti gorge runs
through the whole city from north to south. At places it is only a few
metres wide and the river is so far down below that, at places it is not
visible or audible.
In the middle of the city, the gorge widens to a canyon looking like a
crater. In the north and south, just outside town, the rivers created
canyons, in some places 100 m deep. These canyons extend through the whole
Pokhara Valley. Viewpoints are not easy to find. One place is the Prithvi
Narayan Campus and the other side at the foot of Kahu Danda, where several
rivers and canyons join. Behind the INF-Compound (Tundikhel) one can see
the Seti River disappear into a small slit of a wall about 30 metres high
which is especially impressive in monsoon. Betulechaur in the far north of
Pokhara is known for the musicians caste of the Gain.
Pokhara has several bus routes, mainly running the length of the city from
north to south.
List of lakes & rivers in Pokhara area:
* Phewa Lake
* Begnas Lake
* Rupa Lake
* Seti River
* Gandaki River
* Gude Lake
* Neurani Lake
* Deepang Lake
* Maidy Lake
* Khastey Lake
* Bijayapur River
The sporting activities are mainly centered in the multi purpose stadium
Pokhara Rangasala in Rambazaar. Many competitions are held frequently like
Aaha Gold Cup. The women's volleyball team of Nepal is mostly dominated by
Pokhara girls. National handball is having its deep roots being
established here. The most prolific sport institution is Sahara club.
Besides the Kaski district ANFA also a conducts various leagues and
tournaments. There are various tennis courts and golf course in and around
the city. wikipedia article about Pokhara.
Book your hotel in Pokhara.
|
Buy
travel travel insurance for Travel
Hotels in other city of Nepal
 |
