Pokhara, at the foot of Annapurna. Kind welcome. A hike in the vicinity of Pokhara. Misfortunes with weather.
There are two ways to travel from Kathmandu to Pokhara - by bus or by plane. By bus it takes between 6 and 8 hours, depending on the weather. The flight by plane is only 30 minutes. If you travel by bus, you can see Nepal up close, than if you fly by plane - you can see the peaks of the Himalayas. Therefore, we chose to travel to Pokhara by bus and on the way back by plane. An additional advantage of this sequence was that shortly after our arrival in Kathmandu, we had to take a flight to Kuala Lumpur.
And now we are on our way to Pokhara. The narrow road winds through picturesque valleys, towns and villages, where children go to school in the early morning. In Nepal, at home children can run dirty and barefoot and with torn clothes, but when they go to school, they are clean, neat in their nice uniforms. We enjoy the beautiful view and wish them success.
After few stops for rest and food at charming roadside restaurants, the bus finally arrives in Pokhara. At the bus stop, the kind hosts from the hotel Grandholiday are waiting for us. At the hotel we are welcomed with the famous Nepalese tea with the addition of salted tibetic yak butter.
One recommendation: When choosing a hotel during a trip, in order to meet new places and different cultures, our main criteria are the availability of basic amenities - a bed and a bathroom, and in the modern world - the Internet, if it is possible with breakfast, to be close to the places we want to visit. The presence of additional luxury and special amenities in most cases we do not even notice. In addition to this, our hotel also offered a price of 11 US dollars (2016, now 14US$) per room per night. When you add the incredibly friendly hosts, the transfer from the bus station and to the airport, included in the price, we couldn't ask for more than that.
After a short break from the long trip, we went out to see Pokhara.
The first impression is the big difference between noisy and dusty Kathmandu with Pokhara. Clean streets, regulated traffic with a speed limit that is respected. The city is on the shore of Phewa Lake. A pleasant promenade, reminiscent of the lakes in Germany or Switzerland, beckons for a walk. Even more seaside restaurants and places to relax offer wonderful views of the lake and the surrounding mountains. I could not understand what was the reason for this difference between two cities in Nepal. Perhaps this quote from Wikipedia gives an idea:
People who live or have lived in Pokhara City are known as Pokhareli. In demographic terms, the Gurung people are the dominant ethnic group, hailing from the hills around Pokhara such as Sikles, Armala, Ghalel gaun, Ghandruk, Lumle etc., with Brahmin from Syangja, Newar and Magar making up the rest of Pokhara's population. Pokhara also has the highest number of Gurkha soldiers, the majority of them belonging to Gurung and Magar ethnic groups, who were categorized as martial race by the British Army. The Pokhara region has a very strong military tradition with a significant number of its men being employed by the Nepali army. The Western Division HQ of the Nepalese Army is stationed at Bijayapur, Both the British Army and the Indian Army have regional recruitment and pensioners facilitation camps in Pokhara. The British Gurkha Camp is located at Deep Heights in the northeast of the Pokhara city and the Indian Gorkha Pension Camp is on the south-western side of the city, Rambazar.
The next day, the kind hosts offered us a tour and sightseeing in Pokhara. The morning sun shines on the rooftops and nearby hills. Unfortunately, the peaks of the Himalayas are shrouded in clouds, but we hope that later in the day there will be a view of them as well.
After a short boat trek across the lake, we climb a steep path leading to Shanti Stupa, one of the most popular hiking trails in Pokhara. Along the way, we enjoy wonderful views of the lake and the city, but still Annapurna is shrouded in clouds.
Pokhara Shanti Stupa is a Buddhist monument on Anadu Hill. Shanti is a Sanskrit world meaning peace, and Shanti Stupa means Pagoda of World Peace.
The next stop on our route is Devi's Fall Pokhara. The photo was taken in 2016, the current view can be seen in Google maps. The frescoes are refreshed and the stairs are in much better condition. There is a small chapel at the bottom.
And our last stop on the route - International Mountain Museum
During my student years, I was engaged in mountaineering and for about 20 years I was also a mountain rescuer. Since then, the Himalayan peaks have remained an unfulfilled dream for me. With noble envy, I walked around hall after hall, the museum. We had dinner at a wonderful restaurant - Hungry Eye Restaurant & Bar with local specialties and local wine. Great service, nice staff and price - $ 15 with tips.
The next morning, before the flight to Kathmandu, we had to visit a special place to admire the sunrise over Annapurna (not guaranteed). Of course, we didn't see anything. The morning was deliberately even more cloudy and the peaks did not even give any idea that they existed.
