Pokhara

Hello guys!! Still in Nepal and loving it. A couple of days ago came back from Pokhara and slowly I understand why everyone who has been to Nepal says only great things about this country.

Pokhara has everything, an epic sunrise from the Sarangkot, the lake with colorful boats, huge pagoda, hills where you can hike with a beautiful view, amazing nightlife – the one that can keep you dancing all night long. To be honest with you I feel like I left my heart there, and really want to go back.

Pokhara is located around 200 km from Kathmandu but because of the hill road it takes around 7 hours to get there. Before arriving to Pokhara we stopped on the way for rafting. It was my first time doing it, but I had so much fun and definitely will be doing it again. Have you tried rafting? What do you think?

After rafting, since we left the tourist bus, we had to hop on a public bus and headed towards Pokhara. It felt that it took us forever to reach the city. Also on the way we had two minor accidents, one side mirror broke because the driver hit a truck and then he wanted to squeeze between a truck and the hill, but there was no space, so we heard the ugly noise. Anyway, I don’t know how I stayed in the bus and not walked from there to Pokhara, I guess because being in the middle of nowhere and not speaking Nepali is not a good idea. It took us 5 hours of ‘hell’ to arrive in Pokhara, but we made it, safe and sound.

The whole day on Saturday we had it booked. At 4 45 we had to be ready for the sunrise, so the driver picked us up from the hotel. By the way, we stayed at Kumari Star In hotel and it was really good. It has perfect location, very close to the lake, clean rooms and air conditioning, since it was super hot I think this was the highlight. The sunrise was nice, we could see a bit the mountain Fishtail. There is no clear visibility, as the dust and humidity build before the monsoon season, that starts in June. But I enjoyed a cup of coffee with a great view in silence.

After the sunrise, our guide took us to the caves. The Bat Cave was the most fun in my opinion. I was trying to squeeze to get out, with no proper shoes or clothes, and I almost broke my neck. That was so adventurous but also too dangerous for me. But hey I managed to see bats 😂

For lunch we decided to go to the lakeside. The Phewa Lake is the heart of Pokhara, so beautiful and unique. I am always opting for Nepali food when I am traveling, so I had dal bhat.

Also we saw a lady caring a huge basket with mangos and I could not stop myself from buying some.

In the afternoon we went to Devis Falls, a beautiful waterfall and the most visited place in Nepal. There are a couple of stories about the name, the thing is that there are tunnels under with rushing water, and one woman by Devi name fell and her body was never found. It has a spectacular view, I personally encourage you to check this place out.

In Pokhara you can see the World Peace Pagoda – the first budhist pagoda in Nepal. It is an impressive building, well coming from Europe where you see churches and monasteries all around, a pagoda will be for sure something to make you stare at. I want to learn more about Buddhism, with all the bits of information I am getting here in Nepal, let’s just say it really awaken my curiosity and I asked if there are monasteries where you can go and meditate and learn about Buddhism. If you are also wondering there is Kapan Monastry.

From World Peace Pagoda we hiked down the hill to the lake to take the boat to the other side. This hike is also recommended for those who want to do trekking, considered as a good warm up. And the view! Oh my God! The view is one to remember. Nepal is the greenest country I’ve ever traveled to, by far.

And now about the boats, if you try to search on google Pokhara, most probably the first picture you will get will be of the lake with its colorful boats. A must see!

And now my favorite! Definitely the sunset, the best in my life. Still the visibility was not so clear but I enjoyed it so much. It was so peaceful and perfect, so relaxing.