Know Tourism and Economy of Pokhara

After the annexation of Tibet by China the trading route to India became defunct.

Pokhara has become a major tourist hub of Nepal, more than making up for the loss of its trading importance. The city offers a combination of nature and culture with a distinct tourist district in the southern subdivisions of Baidam, Lakeside and Damside. Pokhara mostly known as starting and ending point for Annapurna treks.

Pokhara is quite a modern city with attractions in the town itself. Most interesting is the old centre in the north of the city (Purano bazar) where still many old shops and warehouses in the Newari style can be found.

On a hill overlooking Phewa Tal from the south is the World Peace Stupa (at 1,113 m) built in 1996 with a view of the lake, across the city and of the snow peaked mountain range consisting of namely, Fishtail, Annapurna, Dhaulagiri and Manslu Himals (mountains).

Temples worth visiting in the older part of town are Bindhyabasini Mandir, Bhimsen Mandir and Bhadrakali Mandir the latter with erotic carvings; another temple, Barahi Mandir, is located on a tiny island on Phewa Tal. Not accessible and only visible from the lake is the royal summer residence (called Ratna Mandir) at the lake in Lakeside.

The best viewpoint of Pokhara is Sarangkot (1,591m) and Thulakot (in Lekhnath a part of famous Royal Trek from where four lakes Phewa, Begnas, Khaste and Dipang and whole Annapurna range is seen) to the west of the city. Paths and a road lead to the top from where one can enjoy spectacular views of the Annapurna range, Manaslu, Dhaulagiri and the city itself.

The modern commercial city centre at Chiple Dhunga and Mahendrapul (now called Bhimsen Chowk, named after a Shahid (Martyr) in Jana-aandolan II, April, 2006) is halfway between the lake and Purano Bazar, the old centre. Apart from this there are several subcentres in other parts of town: in the north in Bagar, in the south between Prithvi Chowk and Srijana Chowk (mainly hardware stores), and in the east, on the other side of the Seti Gandaki river, in Ram Bazar.

The shortage of touristic sites in Pokhara is made up by its scenic views in and around town. Most of them are not mentioned in any guide or map. The Seti (White) Gandaki River and its tributaries have created spectacular gorges in and around the whole city. The Seti gorge runs through the whole city from north to south. At places it is only a few meters wide, but 100 m deep with a water depth of 20m in rainy season.

In the middle of the city, the gorge widens to a canyon looking like a crater. In the north and south, just outside town, there are awesome canyons, in some places 100 m deep. These canyons extend through the whole Pokhara Valley. Impressive views are possible from the Prithvi Narayan Campus and from the other side at the foot of Kahu Danda (conjunction of several rivers and canyons). Behind the INF-Compound (Bagar) one can see the Seti River disappear into a slit in an almost 100 m wall, especially impressive in monsoon.

Another place worth visiting is the Patale Chhango (Hell's Falls), more commonly called "Devi's or David's Falls" for the tourists with some melodramatic story behind it. The water of these falls comes from the Phewa Lake flowing to the Seti. The falls plunge into a hole and disappear. In monsoon this sight is most spectacular. Nearby, across the street is a little cave (Gupteshwor Cave). A more exciting cave is at the opposite end of the city in Batulechaur (Mahendra Cave) and Bats Cave. Betulechaur is known for the musicians caste.

Pokhara Airport is situated in the middle of town serving flights to Kathmandu, Jomsom, Manang, Bhairahawa and Bharatpur. Helicopters to Manang and Jomsom are also available for charter.

An interesting institution of Pokhara is the British Gurkha Camp in the north of the city. It has been established as a recruitment camp for Nepalis as Gurkha soldiers. About 300 are selected annually in December out of a pool of over 20,000 applicants. About 100 eventually join the Gurkha Contingent in Singapore while the rest join the British Army.