Pokhara: Peace Pagoda, Paragliding and Phewa

From the trek in the hillside villages of Kathmandu back to the big city, with all its dust, traffic, car horns…and —

HOT WATER!  ELECTRICITY! WESTERN TOILETS!!! And wonder upon wonders, TOILET PAPER!!

Nothing like doing without for a few days to give a true and real appreciation of the little things in life – the things we take for granted every single day.  WiFi.  Flush toilets.  Windows with glass to keep the cold out. Cars. A myriad of food choices and clothing choices. Indoor plumbing. Soap. Things we just don’t even notice in our everyday life.

I was ready to move on from Kathmandu and check out a new part of Nepal and decided after speaking with others that had been, to travel to Pokhara, the second largest city in Nepal, situated on the second largest lake in Nepal.  Many of the ABC (Annapurna Base Camp) trekkers start and/or finish in Pokhara, so there’s a steady influx of trekkers, backpackers, and adventure seekers.  And to top it off, Pokhara is one of the most highly rated places on the globe for paragliding.  People come from all over the world to ride the thermals and enjoy the views of the incredible mountains range known as the Annapurna Massif that hugs the lake.  The mountains are Mount Machhapuchchhre (also known as Fishtail, due to the look of it) and Hiunchuli, Annapurna 1, Annapurna 2, Annapurna 3 and 4 (peaks obviously not named by someone in the marketing department!) and to be totally creative, Annapurna South.  We are so pleased with our “14ers” in Colorado – mountains that peak at over 14,000’ above sea level, but these mountains top out at 23,000 – 26,000’, over 7200m.  In a word, this region is spectacular.

Roger from the trek and I took a non-local/tourist bus, hoping for a bit more comfort than our initial bus ride, and we said our goodbyes as Roger hopped off the bus to check out Bandipur and I continued on to Pokhara. I found a little hotel/homestay place called Pushpa Guest House, run by Raj and his wife.  The reviews were stellar, so I booked a room for 4 nights. Off the main drag, it was a cute little place with a rooftop area for having morning coffee.

One of the “must do” things in Pokhara is a visit to the Peace Pagoda, high atop a hillside overlooking the beautiful Fewa (or Phewa) Lake below. The Shanti Stupa is situated on Ananda Hill at an elevation of 1100 meters (3600 feet).  I hiked up the long way, from the Fewa Dam through a jungle replete with monkeys and wild birds.  The hike was not very well marked, and I was hesitant to go until I ran into a young couple from Germany and tagged along with them.  Thankfully they were directionally adept (as I am definitely NOT) and we hiked along together to the top.

While at the stupa admiring the view from up high, a woman began slowly and methodically beating a large drum in the temple, and singing a haunting song or prayer.  It was very moving, and I felt lucky to be able to experience it – it really made the temple visit so much more special.

The German couple and I took a break and had a beer at the top, then hiked down the front side of the temple to the lake – a much shorter but steeper approach than the Dam trail we had taken, which was more mellow but longer.  We paid a few rupees to have a local woman row us across the lake to the other side, and I thanked them profusely for allowing me to tag along on their hike to the Peace Pagoda.

One of the can’t miss things to do in Pokhara is paragliding.  It’s known worldwide for its amazing thermals, gorgeous views of the Annapurnas and the beautiful lake below.  Every day, the hill above town, Sarangkot, is covered with gliders of every color – scarlet, blue, orange, green, yellow, turquoise.

Tandem pilots with paying customers as well as private pilots from all over the world wait their turn to ascend into the wild blue yonder, sailing effortlessly and silently into the clear blue sky above.  French pilots. Nepalese pilots. Pilots from Finland, Austria, Romania, China and Brazil.  Over 200 solo pilots flying in February, alongside 200 tandem pilots. Paragliding aficionados from every corner of the world flock to Pokhara to enjoy the ride.

I asked a French paraglider who owns his own paragliding business in France and comes to Pokhara for the winter to fly why he comes back year after year.  “Because of the big beautiful mountains, the 360 flyable days each year, little to no wind and the most amazing thermals.  And there are so many birds to fly with.  There are also cross country flights available with the ability to fly more than 100 km (62 miles) oftentimes.  I love flying over the villages, mountains, lakes and rivers.”

My pilot was named Rupee, and he was excited to get up into the air.  “Look straight ahead, and run off the edge of the cliff here with me, ok?”  Sure.  Why the hell not???

And just like that.  We were airborne! Gliding silently and smoothly through the air above the lake.  That is the ridiculously beautiful Annapurna Range behind me.  The large pointy one on the far right is Fishtail.  At the time, I didn’t realize how lucky i was to have such a clear day, but it was a gift.

 

 

 

 

Only 30 minutes in the air, but what a 30 minutes!  It was beautiful, thrilling, peaceful, gorgeous and surreal. I was impressed by how large and spread out Pokhara was, and it was amazing to be up high among the Himalayans.

The landing was easy and smooth.  Rupee had taken a ton of pictures and videos (which were included in the $75 price) and we headed back to the office to download the media to my phone.

How do you top a day like that?

While having a beer later that same day with one of the paraglider pilots, Piu, we were asked if we could be extras in a Nepali movie that needed Westerners for a restaurant scene.  We wouldn’t get paid, but we’d get free beer.  Um, ya?  Sure!  The movie, called ”The Breakup” featured a slick handsome Nepali actor with ridiculously awesome hair.  We sat and “acted” for a few hours – I was a natural.

My last few days in Pokhara were spent at a yoga retreat above Lake Fewa.  Sadhana Yoga was a beautiful, clean, peaceful place offering meditation, yoga and delicious meals.  I signed up for two nights and two days.

The schedule included meditation at 6 am (I know, right??), neti pot cleansing (jala neti) which included roaring like a lion and expelling saline water through your nose, candle meditation, laughing therapy, reflexology, chanting, meditating with the string of 108 Rudraksaha mala beads, steam treatments and mud baths, and yoga.  Of course yoga.  Our yoga master was not into pretty, flow-y yoga; oh no.  He worked us hard.  Sun salutations until we were ready to scream (or at least until “I” was ready to scream!), striking cobra, and Superman. I attended 5 yoga classes within less than 40 hours, and I totally felt it.

I also had an incredible Ayurvedic massage with Reiki healing, and afterwards, a steam treatment in a Houdini-like wooden box.  This box was like a casket with a hole cut out at the top for my head, and a pressure cooker fed a pipe in the box full of steam for cleansing.  Lemongrass and other mysterious herbs were tied in a bundle on the floor of the box, under my little stool upon which I sat.

It was pretty intense, and I finally begged for mercy and had my masseuse turn off the steam so I could stew for a bit.  A completely new experience for me!

Sooooo glad I went to Pokhara – it was just what I needed after the dusty, noisy metropolis of Kathmandu and the primitive beauty of the trek.  I ate at some great restaurants, had a pizza (!!), met some wonderful people, hiked, paraglided, yoga-ed and pretty much enjoyed myself thoroughly.

A quick flight from the tiny Pokhara Airport back to Kathmandu Airport and off to the next stop on my trip, Indonesia.  Bali.

See you there —

 

Pilgrims are persons in motion, passing through territories not their own; seeking something we might call completion, or perhaps the word ‘clarity’ will do as well, a goal to which only the spirit’s compass points the way.                                                                             Richard R. Niebuhr