Nepal: Pokhara

Pokhara

The bus ride from Sauhara to Pokhara ultimately took six and a half hours, even though the distance is only about 200km. The winding roads are only partially paved and there was quite a bit of traffic.

We had booked a nice hotel near Phewa Lake, where we were welcomed very kindly and warmly.

Pokhara is a place from which many popular trekking tours start, such as the Annapurna Circuit, which Peter admirably completed 9 years ago, climbing a staggering 5416 meters in altitude.

However, since this is (at least) a league too high for me, we have planned a 10-day tour in Langtang from Kathmandu. His charming Nepalese guide from back then, Ripa Rai, who Peter has stayed in touch with ever since, will accompany us. But more on that later.

Here, you only come across a few tourists because it's the off-season. This is very pleasant for us because it means that various sights and attractive places are not as crowded, which often detracts from the charm of such places.

Now the monsoon has also started here, and it rains regularly, fortunately mostly at night and usually not continuously. It is hot, but 10 degrees cooler than in India, so it's no problem for us.

When strolling through the city, you immediately notice that many streets and alleys in the city are in very poor, mostly unpaved condition, especially away from the tourist areas near the lake.

The locals greet you from all sides with a friendly 'Namaste', and true hustle and bustle doesn't seem to arise here so quickly.

While passing by a tailor shop where three ladies were gracefully dancing, I was promptly encouraged to join in when they saw me. This spontaneous pleasure was very enjoyable for all of us, and language barriers didn't play a role at all when there's music involved.

The children we later met proudly performed various tricks and wanted to be photographed during their performance. Thanks to their basic English skills, we were able to exchange some words because everyone here is curious to know where we come from.

There are several very nice restaurants and boat rentals right by the lake. Especially in the evenings, there is a lot going on and a nice atmosphere by the water.

We visited the famous Buddhist World Peace Pagoda, which is located on a hill opposite the lakeshore and offers a beautiful view of the lake and the city.

We also visited Devi's Falls, the waterfall. A Swiss tourist and his partner supposedly plunged down there and drowned, and the name is derived from his name, David.

Sarangkot is supposed to offer a good view of the Annapurna Massif at sunrise. We were still sleeping at that time, but we finally made it there a bit later in the morning to start a tandem paraglider flight from there. It was an indescribable experience to glide gently down into the beautiful valley above the lake!

The initial clouds cleared up a bit, so the view was actually quite wonderful, even though the peaks remained hidden in the clouds.

Being able to overlook the stunning area from above was an awe-inspiring experience for both of us.

Tomorrow morning, we will continue by bus to Kathmandu and are looking forward to meeting Ripa there.