Things to do
7-
Annapurna Base Camp Trek
Seven to twelve days of stone staircases, rhododendron forest and Gurung villages lead into a glacial amphitheatre ringed by peaks above 7,000 metres, with teahouses at every stage and no camping required. Trailheads sit within a couple of hours of Pokhara. Permits and a registration card are checked along the way, and the sanctuary carries avalanche risk in late winter and spring.
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Davis Falls
Near the southern edge of town, a stream vanishes into a sinkhole and drops into an underground channel that resurfaces in the cave across the road. Volume depends entirely on the season: loud and full through the monsoon, thin by spring. Half an hour covers it, and the cave opposite makes the obvious pairing.
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Gupteshwor Mahadev Cave
Steps descend from a roadside gate into a limestone cavern holding a Shiva shrine, then continue down a wet passage to a chamber where the Davis Falls stream crashes through. Footing is slick and the lower section is low enough to demand a stoop. Shoes come off near the shrine, and the far chamber floods in the monsoon.
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International Mountain Museum
Purpose built halls on the southern edge of Pokhara trace Himalayan climbing history, the flora and geology of the range, and the cultures of the mountain valleys, with gear from the early Everest expeditions and a climbing wall outside. Labels are thorough and the galleries are large, so an hour rarely covers it. It makes a solid wet afternoon, and taxis are the practical way in.
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Phewa Lake
Wooden boats work the water below the Lakeside strip, rowed out to the island shrine of Tal Barahi or across to the trailhead for the pagoda. On a still morning the Annapurna wall and Machhapuchhre reflect off the surface, which is the image the town is known for. Rowing is by the hour with or without a boatman, and afternoon wind gets up.
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Sarangkot
Jeeps and taxis climb before dawn to a ridge village above the lake, where a viewing tower faces a horizon of Dhaulagiri, Annapurna and Machhapuchhre catching the first light. Paragliders launch from the same slope through the morning, landing by the water an hour later. Cloud builds through the day, so the pre dawn run is the one that pays.
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World Peace Pagoda
A white stupa built by Japanese Buddhist monks crowns the ridge on the southern shore, reached by boat and a forty minute climb, or by road from the far side. The terrace looks down the length of the lake and out to the Annapurnas behind it. Sunrise and late afternoon are the hours to aim for, and the path is slippery after rain.