8 Unique Adventures in Pokhara, Nepal

Edited December 1, 2024

In March of 2018 I was in Nepal for the first time, and after a few days in crazy Kathmandu and my amazing week trekking the Indigenous Peoples Village to Village route, I spent a week in Pokhara.  This is where I tried paragliding for the first time, relaxed (sort of, since the yoga instructor was apparently trying to kill me with an inordinate amount of Sun Salutations) at a yoga retreat in the hills of Sarangkot and reveled at the snow covered peaks of the stunning Annapurna Mountain range encircling the placid Lake Fewa and the Peace Pagoda perched high above the lake. This is also where I first met Piu, my French paraglider.  For the past year, he and I have been meeting up and traveling around the world together – to France, Colorado, Italy, Madagascar and Croatia.  So when he mentioned he would be in Pokhara for paragliding in February and March, I invited myself to join him for a few weeks before my European adventures in April. We planned to spend two weeks in Pokhara together, then he would head home to France and I would be volunteering at an orphanage in Chitwan, Nepal for two weeks, spending a total of 4 weeks in Nepal this year.

Returning to Pokhara was so relaxing!  I didn’t feel like I needed to “hit” all the major sites since I had done that the first time.  It was nice to just “be” in Pokhara and enjoy strolling the main streets, exploring the hidden side streets, sipping a cold Everest or Namaste Nepali beer and eating mo-mo’s (dumplings) or samosas (deep fried pockets of yumminess) in a Lakeside bar each afternoon without feeling stressed to go go go and see it all.

On my first visit to Pokhara, I did many of the traditional “must do” iconic items – I hiked up to the Peace Pagoda, visited the Gurkha Museum, attended a yoga retreat for 2 days, and tried paragliding with a local Nepali company.  You can read about these adventures in my earlier blog post, https://wp.me/p9v1TF-fe  I highly recommend all of the activities as detailed in that post, as well as the following 7 experiences which may be a little bit “off the beaten path” for ideas of things to do.

1. Visit Mahendrapool, the shopping district not frequented by tourists. It’s about 5 km outside of Lakeside, and can be reached by taxi, local bus (always an adventure!) or by walking. You’ll find the jewelers, basket weavers, tailors, barbers and shoemakers, as well as shops full of housewares – selling the ever-popular pressure cookers for making dal (thin lentil soup, served at every. single. breakfast and dinner), tea kettles, large and small plastic baskets, skillets and such.  Here’s where the locals shop for clothes, shoes, shampoo and more. You’ll also be able to see the old carved windows and doors of the traditional homes that line the streets – but these old beautiful structures are being demolished to make way for the new, so make sure to see these before they’re gone.

2.  Get an amazing massage at Yes Helping Hands Spa,(yeshelpinghands.com/www.yeshelpinghands.org) a fair trade organization that offers massages by persons that are blind and deaf. Located upstairs on the main drag in Lakeside, this modest place offers Ayurvedic or Swedish massage, aromatherapy massages, hot stone massages, body scrubs, facials and manicures and pedicures (although I’d want a deaf person for my mani, I think!) Definitely not the cheapest place to get massages, (you can get an hour massage for 1800 rupees anywhere along the strip, but I paid 3000 rupees- about $26 USA (for a one hour treatment) but the money stays with the organization to give employment opportunities to people with disabilities.  As their brochure says, “we aim to challenge the discrimination they face in mainstream society and help them enjoy an independent life.”   I highly recommend Dhana – she was amazingly intuitive and really did a great, thorough and professional job.

3. Hike or motorbike to Panchase high above Lakeside and stay overnight at a homestay. Piu and I rented a motorbike in town for about $20 and jolted, bounced and bumped along the new “roads” that have been carved into the hillsides (but not smoothed or topped with any kind of surfacing, so they’re basically uneven dirt roads fulllllll of rocks, boulders and stones).  We drove into the Annapurna Conservation Area which is a preserve for which you are supposed to pay a small fee, but there was no one manning the booth at the entry so we just passed through.  You can enjoy the views of the majestic Fishtail (Machapuchare), Dhaulagiri and Manaslu peaks of the Annapurna Range (but start early, as they tend to be shrouded in mist and clouds after 10 or 11 am!)
   

   

   

   

   We rolled in around 3 pm to Happy Hearts Hotel, a beautifully manicured property with flowers, trees and pristine buildings run by Maya and her three unmarried sisters in this Gurung village of terraced rice fields, green jungle flora and the early blooms of the rhododendrons, and had first pick of the spartan but spotlessly clean rooms available.

   

   

   

   

   

   Maya made us some delicious sugary black tea, and Piu and she chatted about their past visits over the years. About an hour later, a huge rain and hailstorm began, and we hunkered down under heavy Nepali blankets in the bed, listening to the magical sound of rain dancing on the tin roof above.  After a lovely nap (such a decadent treat to take a nap in the middle of the day during a rainstorm! I love retirement!!) we joined the rest of the guests for dinner that had arrived during the storm. The sisters cooked a wonderful dal baht – rice, lentil soup (dal), “pickle” (can be pickled tomato, peppers, cauliflower or whatever has been fermenting in large jars that line the kitchen counters in jars and containers of all shapes and sizes) and fresh vegetables – broccoli, cabbage, onion and carrots.

   In the morning, we woke at sunrise and walked up to the high point at the property to see the beautiful rising sun crest over the Himalayans, turning the mountains pink, then amber, then gold…

After a hearty pancake breakfast with jam and black tea (or milk tea, if you prefer!) we cautiously began our descent down these new roads which, after the torrential rainstorm, were swimming in mud, muck and debris.  About 2 minutes into the ride, the bike spun out and we tipped over, breaking one of the mirrors.  Rather than riding as a passenger, I walked down much of the initial descent, as it was a swampy mess of thick, viscous brown mud and really not motorbike-drivable for about ½ mile.  Once we got past the sludgy mess, I was able to get back on the bike and enjoy the drive down – but “bistari, bistari” (slowly, slowly.) Before returning the bike, we stopped in the outskirts of Pokhara at a Yamaha bike dealer and purchased a brand new replacement mirror for (are you ready for this??) $3.  Yes.  Three dollars American. I’m guessing a part like that would be $50 or more in the USA. Before returning the bike, we stopped to have all the mud washed off by some young Nepali men operating a hose and sprayer on the side of the road, and paid 100 rupees (about 80c) to have them meticulously and lovingly soap, scrub, spray and dry the bike, taking over 20 minutes to do so.

4. Hike up to the Peace Pagoda, but then keep going along the ridge for a different experience that most tourists don’t take advantage of. You can take a boat across Fewa Lake from Lakeside and hike up the steps, or you can go to the Dam Side of the lake and hike up the “back” through the forest.  You may run into monkeys up there, so keep your eyes open! It’s an easy trek and a beautiful way to see a bit of the surrounding countryside.
5. Devi Falls (aka Davi Falls, Davis Falls). Skip it – unless it’s after monsoon season, it’s pretty lame. I went in March and it was not too impressive.  It was a nice walk from Lakeside, maybe 2 miles? So for that, it was worth a ramble through some new-to-me neighborhoods but the Falls themselves were pretty much a trickle.  There’s a cave across the street, but I didn’t check that out so I don’t have much to report on that – sorry!
6. If you’re lucky enough to be in town for a festival, join in. I had the good fortune to be there for Shivaratri.  This festival honors one of the Hindu gods, Shiva, a god with a reputation for drug use, naughtiness and nudity.  (Sounds like my kind of god!) It’s believed that honoring Lord Shiva on this night helps worshippers end bad habits and turn their lives in a better direction. Long sugar cane stalks can be purchased throughout town.  At night, a bonfire is lit and the ends of the sugar cane are heated in the bonfire until the sugar inside has become searingly hot and then it is raised above the head, swung down in an arc and SMACKED on a log or stone to create an explosion and BANG!!!  The sugar causes a loud burst of noise somewhat like a firecracker. The children love it! There was live music in town, and the sounds and smells of the burning sugar cane blasting down every side street was a new experience for me. Many people use this holiday to smoke ganja, and the smell permeates the air of Nepal as well.  It’s a night of celebration, partying and fun for all ages.
7. And yes. You need to paraglide.  Pokhara is one of a handful of places on this planet that offers incredible and consistent conditions for flying – nearly 300 days per year of perfect conditions and is definitely worth the price for a magical flight into the sky with the Annapurna range as your backdrop and the beautiful Fewa Lake below you.  There are soooo many paragliding companies in town – do some research and do not choose the cheapest option.  Find a company (like Blue Sky) that has been around for years, with experienced pilots and a good reputation.  Tell the Piu from France sent ya! He knows them all, and they know him. (If you suffer from carsickness or motion sickness, take some Dramamine or Bonine before you go up – trust me on this one.)
   

   

   

   Paragliding in Pokhara

8.  Take a hike.  There are many trails around Pokhara.  You can buy a local map, use maps.me app on your phone, or just head out the door.  We hopped a ride in a Jeep with a bunch of paragliders to one of the takeoffs and hiked down from there one afternoon.  We passed through some beautiful villages where no one spoke English, tried to figure out if we could get to a small village across the ridge, and ended up just hiking down and catching a bus back to Lakeside.  It was a completely tourist-free day – we were the only ones out for a hike, and enjoyed it thoroughly.

Enjoy Pokhara!  If you have any additional “must do” things to see or experience, please comment below – thanks so much!

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.   T.S. Eliott