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Pokhara: at the base of the Annapurna Mountain Range of Nepal


The centre of the Kaski District in Nepal is the popular tourist city of Pokhara, 200 kilometres (125 miles) west of Kathmandu. It is most known for the incredible Annapurna ranges of the Himalayas, in which three of the world’s ten highest mountains (Dhaulagiri, Annapurna I, and Manaslu) are only 48 kilometres (30 miles) away. From the city, people can easily see Annapurna I, Annapurna II, and Annapurna III. Tourists use Pokhara as the base for the Annapurna Circuit trek.
The mountains from the city are so close, on a clear morning it feels as if you can touch them. They rise sharply, from 1,000 to 7,500 metres, and loom large over Pokhara. For this reason, the region has high rainfall (5600mm/222 inches per year) and not much snow in the valley. The closest, and most prominent and beautiful mountain (some say in the whole country) is the Machhapuchhre with an elevation of 6,993 metres. The Machhapuchhre or Fishtail Mountain has two peaks close together in the shape of a fish tail. However, from the city only one peak can be seen. As you drive further from the city, the second peak becomes visible.
Flying in from Kathmandua (less than half an hour), the mountain range can be seen from the right side of the plane. Pokhara is situated on Phewa Lake, and there are seven smaller lakes that can be visited a short distance from the city, such as Rupa Lake and Begnas Lake, south-east of Pokhara in the municipality of Lekhnath (a new town in the rapidly expanding valley). On the hill beside Phewa Lake is the World Peace Pagoda, built in 1996, with a view of the city, lake, and Sarangkot (northwest of the city). Paragliding and skydiving take place from the top of Sarangkot Hill, with people landing on the shores of Phewa Lake.









MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
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