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.
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