new Pokhara, Nepal - Travel Tips

Introduction

- Pokhara is a great place to stay. It doesn’t have any sights on its own, but the region around Pokhara offers a lot of possibilities for trekking, mountain biking, rafting and paragliding.
- Just like Thamel, the Lakeside area offers all you can dream of as a tourist, only the atmosphere is more relaxed here then in KTM. You'll find the same shops as in Thamel.

Accommodation

- The best place to stay in undoubtedly the Fulbari resort. It’s an enormous resort outside of the city, situated near a dramatic gorge. This place offers everything you want as long as you can afford it: tennis, golf, swimming etc... Rooms are of course excellent with marble bathrooms, fridge, safe, TV etc... The main drawback for independent travelers is that it’s pretty far from the center, but they have a shuttle. A taxi will cost 200 to 300 Rp. For people in a tour group this should be no objection. They have a website at www.fulbari.com where you can make direct reservations. Discounts are available in low season.
- If your budget is a bit lower, the Sacred Valley Inn is a good choice. It is a house in the South of Lakeside. They have rooms with clean bathroom for 300 to 500 Rp depending on how big the room and terrace is. They offer all kind of things like internet, trips etc...

Restaurants

- Mike's Restaurant is supposed to be one of the best restaurants according to LP, but I didn't like it at all. It is not cozy at all, with some neon lights and locals having a beer.
- I ate at the Lemon Tree. The atmosphere was OK with candles and so, but the tables were too low to be comfortable and the food was so so.
- A better bet was the Korean restaurant (Koh Chi or something) there. The food was excellent, although I had diarrhea next day, but it could have been from the lassi as well.

Internet

Internet is much more expensive in Pokhara Lakeside at 120 Rp per hour then in KTM where you pay between 20 and 30 Rp per hour. Also in the non-touristic center of Pokhara, price is only 40 Rp per hour.

Trekking

Which trek?

This will depend upon your time, but there are various possibilities:
3 days:

-you could go to Gorepani in 2 days, do Poon Hill the third day and return in 1 day. Personally I wouldn’t do this as the climb up to Gorepani is pretty hard, and you’d have to backtrack.
-Otherwise you could fly to Jomsom, then to Kagbeni, Muktinath and Marpha, and return by flight on day 3
4 days:
-The classical trip here would be the Poon hill trek: go to Gorepani in 2 days, see Poon Hill the third day and then come back via Gandruk.
-Another possibility is the Royal trek.
-You could even fly to Jomsom and come back in 4 days via Beni. This hike does not include any serious climbs.
5 days:
-Jomsom trek without Muktinath coming back via Beni or Birethanti
6 – 7 days
-In 6-7 days, you can do the classical Jomsom trek including Kagbeni and Muktinath, and come back via Beni (6 days) or Gorepani (7 days)
-7 days will also get you into the Annapurna sanctuary.

Annapurna circuit
This will take between 17 and 21 days, if you go into the Annapurna sanctuary, it’ll take up to 28 days.
Jomsom trek
1) This is probably the most popular trek in Nepal for people who don’t have the time to do the whole circuit. It offers great scenery, nice villages and good accommodation and food.
2) You’ll have to decide whether you walk in and fly out or vice versa. Both have advantages:
- Walk in – fly outThe advantage is that you’ll get gradually more adapted to the altitude. The disadvantage is that you’ll have to do the very difficult climb towards Gorepani (unless you go through Beni), you have 1 or 2 days more of climbing (you go from 1100 m to 2800 m), and when you fly out, you might get stuck in Jomsom if the weather is bad, or if overbooking have occurred. Take this into account when scheduling your international flight.
- Fly in – walk outJust the opposite. I took this option as I was already adapted to altitude after my trip to Bhutan.

Trips around Pokhara

The classical trip outside of Pokhara is the one to Sagarkot. You can get there by minibus or by bike. A downhill trip by bike is also possible. In autumn, the views from there are fantastic.

Go to Annapurna

Article Comments:

04/20/2006
Bangkok Joe (1)
Hi Koen, I've just returned from Pokhara so here's to add on to your article with my experiences http://www.thailandroad.com. Check it out.