Pokhara Tour

We fly from Kathmandu in twenty-five minutes, or drive in six to seven hours along the Trishuli - the flight is worth it for the view of the range along the whole northern horizon. Pokhara sits at 800m on the shore of Phewa Lake, and no city in Nepal is closer to big mountains: Machhapuchhre rises almost 7,000m above a lake at 800, close enough that on a still morning the entire range is reflected in the water. The afternoon is free. A boat across Phewa to the Tal Barahi temple on its island takes an hour, and the walk along the lake road at Lakeside in the evening is what most people end up doing anyway. Overnight in Pokhara.

We leave in the dark for Sarangkot at 1,592m, on the ridge above the town, and arrive in time for the light to come up on the Annapurnas. Annapurna I, II, III and IV, Hiunchuli, Machhapuchhre and Dhaulagiri light in sequence while the lake sits in mist several hundred metres below - it is one of the most reliable mountain sunrises in Nepal because the peaks are so close. After breakfast the day fills easily: Devi's Fall, where the Pardi Khola disappears into a sinkhole, and the Gupteshwor cave directly beneath it; the International Mountain Museum, which is better than it sounds and covers the history of Himalayan climbing properly; and the World Peace Pagoda on the ridge across the water, reached by boat and a half-hour climb, with the best single view of the town and the range together.

The morning is free - a last boat on the lake, breakfast somewhere with a view, or the Bindhyabasini temple above the old bazaar, which is the oldest part of Pokhara and a very different place from Lakeside. We then fly or drive back to Kathmandu, arriving in the afternoon. Anyone with more time can add a night at Australian Camp or Dhampus on the ridge above the valley, which is a two-hour walk in and gives you the mountains without a trek.