Pokhara: Phewa Lake, Sarangkot and the View at Dawn

Pokhara sits at 820 metres under the Annapurna massif, and on a clear morning the mountains stand along the northern horizon with a blatancy that does not look real. On a hazy morning you will wonder what everyone is talking about.

Sarangkot, at dawn

Sarangkot is the ridge north-west of the city, and the standard thing to do is get up there before sunrise to watch first light hit Machhapuchhre and the Annapurnas. It is worth it, on a clear day, once.

The catch is the crowd. Everybody in Pokhara has the same plan, and between five and half past six the viewpoint road carries a convoy of taxis and motorbikes. Two alternatives: walk up from the Sarangkot trailhead on foot, arriving by five; or go up at nine for the far less photographed late-morning light with the valley below you.

Pokhara, Nepal

Phewa Lake

Phewa is a working lake as well as a scenic one. Rowing boats and the small sailing dinghies can be hired from the eastern shore, and the crossing to the Tal Barahi temple on its island takes about twenty minutes. Go early, before the wind comes up and the lake gets choppy.

The far shore is quiet and wooded, and the walk along the southern bank at the end of the day is the best free thing in Pokhara.

The mountains are visible on maybe half the mornings. Plan for two, not one.

Paragliding, and the honest version

Pokhara is one of the world better paragliding sites, with a long ridge and reliable thermals, and tandem flights launch from Sarangkot almost every morning. The experience is genuinely good.

It is also an activity with real variability in operator quality, insurance and pilot licensing. Ask which association the pilot is certified with, confirm the flight is insured, and be suspicious of prices well below the going rate.

Old Pokhara

The lakeside strip is hotels, restaurants and trekking shops, and it is not the city. Old Pokhara, east of the Seti river, has the bazaar, the Bindhyabasini temple and the Newar trading houses — half a day, and considerably more interesting than the lakeside road.

The International Mountain Museum south of town is worth two hours, particularly before a trek.