Places to see in around Pokhara valley
Phewa Lake
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Phewa lake in Pokhara |
Phewa Lake, Phewa Tal or
Fewa Lake is a freshwater lake in Nepal located in the south of the Pokhara
Valley that includes Pokhara city; parts of Sarangkot and Kaskikot. The lake is
stream-fed but a dam regulates the water reserve, therefore, the lake is
classified as semi-natural freshwater lake. It is the second largest lake in
Nepal, the largest in Gandaki Zone followed by Begnas Lake. Phewa lake is
located at an altitude of 790m from the sea level it covers an area of about 5.23 km2. with an
average depth of about 8.6 m (28 ft) with maximum water depth is 24 m Maximum water capacity of the lake is
approximately 4,600,000 cubic meters The
Annapurna range on the north is only about 28 km (linear distance) away from
the lake, and the lake is famous for the reflection of mount Machhapuchhre and
other mountain peaks of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges on its surface.The
Barahi Temple is situated on an island in the lake.
Barahi Temple
Located on an island in
Nepal's Phewa Lake, stands the Barahi Temple. A visit to the island near the
center of Lake Phewa,
On this pleasant, lush
island you will discover the 2 story pagoda of Barahi Temple. This Hindu temple
in Nepal is dedicated to Ajima in the boar manifestation, representative of the
force of Shakti. Shakti is the Hindu mother goddess who is the origin of
universal creativity and power. Shakti as a feminine power assumes several
roles. In the form of Durga, Shakti protects the gods from demons. Durga takes
on the manifestation of Ajima in the form of a boar called Barahi to pierce her
evil enemies with her pointed tusks. Barahi is pictured with the face of a boar
with a cup in one hand and fish in the other. As such, Barahi Temple is a very
important center of worship for the Hindu devotees. Tourists are likely to see
worshipers making their way to the temple on Saturdays carrying male animals
for sacrifice.
Both local inhabitants of
Pokhara and tourist alike flock to the Barahi temple regularly. If you plan on
visiting the temple aboard your own hired boat, be sure to take a picnic along
as the island in Phewa Lake is a lovely spot for relaxing, whilst surrounded by
marvelous views.
Annapurna Range Skyline
The most spectacular sight
in Pokhara is the sight of Annapurna range. See the following image which shows
eight important mountains of the Annapurna range.
This range stretching from
west to east includes Dhaulagiri, South Annapurna, Annapurna 1, Hiunchuli,
Fish-tail (Machapuchare), Annapurna III, Annapurna IV, and Annapurna II. In
Pokhara, the holy unclimbed mountain Macchapucchre (or also known as Fishtail
Mountain), located in the middle of the Annapurna range, can be seen standing
right in front of our faces
Everyone in Pokhara wakes up
early to greet the mountains during sunrise. The reflection of sunlight from a
mountain is always a breathtaking site. You will never forget the sight of the
fishtail mountain standing right before your eyes saying "Good
Morning!"
Begnas Lake
Begnas Lake, the second
largest lake of Pokhara Valley is situated at an altitude of 650m. It is
located in the Siswa village on the eastern part of Pokhara and is 15 km away
from the Pokhara city. It covers an area of 3 sq. km. Average water depth of
the lake is 9.37 and the maximum water depth is 13.84m. The capacity of the
lake is 29.05 million cubic meter. It is comparatively deeper in the northern
and western part in the comparision to eastern and southern part. The lake
water is drained out by Khudi Khola from the western part.
The forest around Begnes
lake is very rich in flora and fauna.
The forest surrounding the lake is the habitat of more than 150 species of
different birds. The northern part of the lake is best site for observing water
fowls. The forest is also rich in mammals where abundant leopards wander
majestically. The pride of this forest is that it is the home of some
endangered flora and fauna. You can enjoy boating and fishing in this lake. You
can travel to the nearby villages by hiring the boat all the day.
Rupa Lake is separated by
the Pachabhaiya ridge from Begnas Lake , hence, these two lakes are often
called the twin lakes. Rupa Lake is situated at an altitude of about 600m and
covers an area of 1.12 sq km running along from north to south. The average
depth of the lake is 3.0m and maximum water depth is 4.79m. Its water holding
capacity is 3.1 million cubic meter.
Seti
Gandaki/George
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Seti River George |
Another Pokhara's natural
wonders that is the Seti Gandaki River/ George . Flowing right through the
city, the noisy river runs complete underground at place. Amazingly, at certain
points the river appears hardly 2 meters wide. But its depth is quite beyond
imagination - over 45 meters. The deep gorge can be viewed from any bridge over
the Seti river. K I Singh bridge at Bagar, Mahendra bridge at downtown and
Prithwi Highway Bridge near the bus park. Looking down these bridges, one can
see the white turbulent flow of the Seti through an incredibly narrow canyon
about 4m. deep and at places hardly one or two meters in its width.
Mahendra Cave
Mahendra Cave resides in Batulechaur.
Its a 10 minute drive from chipledhunga the central market place of the Pokhara
city. Mahendra cave has been named as per the Late King Mahendra Bir Bikram
Shah Dev. This is also one of the most demanding tourist attraction center here
in pokhara. It resides in the northern settlements of the valley.
This snap here features a
visitor within the interior of the cave. This cave is a natural tunnel which is
provided with artificial lighting systems. Bulbs are used by the cave incharge
so that the visitors can visit it without any difficulty. But do take a torch
light with you just in case the electricity goes off.
Bat Cave
(Chamera Gupha) :
This cave is located a
little far form the Mahendra cave in the west .This cave was also discovered by
the owner of the land – a farmer in the year 2040.Though the entrance is quite
narrow but the inner part of the cave is wide enough. The images of the
elephant tusk, gods and goddess have been craved on the inner walls of the
cave.
This cave is 150 meter long,
7metres high and of the shape of “U”. This cave is famous for the bats and
gives shelter to more than 15 thousand bats of different species.
Devi's Falls
(Patale Chhango)
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| Davi's Fall |
Pokhara is the only city in
Nepal which is famous for water falls. As we drive by the river sides below the
hills we can see several beautiful and dashing water falls flowing downhill and
finally flowing to the rivers. The city itself has a beautiful waterfall within
itself and it is known as Davis Fall (In Nepali: Patale chango)
It is believed that this deadly
waterfall took the life of a tourist named David, who fell down into the canel
and was never found, and hence the name David waterfall, named in his memory by
the people of Pokhara.
This snap features the Davis
fall during the rainy season. The excess water in Fewa lake needs to be drained
hence the dam is open during summer and this makes Davis fall much more dynamic.
Davis fall is worth visiting during the rainy and summer seasons. This high
velocity of water has created different type of rock formation as shown in the
above snap
Gupteshwar Cave
Gupteshwar Cave is also
known as the Gupteswar Gupha. One of the most popular and most frequently
visited Tourist Attractions in Pokhara, the Gupteshwar Cave holds a special
religious importance and especially to the local people. This cave is regarded
holy by the Hindus. The main highlight of the site is the Shivalinga, the
phallic symbol of the Lord Shiva. The linga is preserved here in the condition
it was discovered. The cave is 3 km long and it features several large
hall-like rooms and some passages. If you want to enter here, you will have to
crawl.
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| Guputeshore Mahadve Cave |
Apart from the mystical
Gupteshwar Cave, Pokhara has lot more of attractions in store for you. Pokhara
offers a rare combination of immense natural wealth and rich cultural heritage
with a famous tourist district in the southern subdivisions of Lake side and
Dam side.
The entrance of the
Gupteshwar Cave in Pokhara is right across from the Devi's Falls. Gupteshwar
Cave is easily accessible and tourists can arrive at the site conveniently
without any hassle. All you need to do in order to reach the place is to travel
a distance of 2 km from the Pokhara Airport on the Siddhartha Highway leading
southwest from the city.
World Peace pagoda ( Bishow shanti
Stupa )
Balanced on a narrow ridge
high above Phewa Tal (Lake), the brilliant-white World Peace Pagoda in Pokhara
is a massive Buddhist stupa which was constructed by Buddhist monks from the
Japanese Nipponzan Myōhōji organisation. Besides being an impressive sight in
itself, the shrine is a vantage point which offers spectacular views of the
Annapurna Himalaya range and Pokhara city. There are three paths up to the
pagoda and several small cafes once you arrive.
Sarangkot
Sarangkot is the most
popular tourist destination from where the tourist can enjoy the great view of
the Pokhara Valley and the magnificent view of the mountains. Sarangkot is only
15 km from Lake Side, Pokhara. Sarangkot is the highest view point for a
sunrise and it is just 1592m high. Sarangkot can be reached easily by 45
minutes by a car ride to the top from Pokhara and then 30 minutes hike up to
the main view point. Many tourists come to Sarangkot for sunrise view and go
back after few hours but it will be good if tourist stay there for one night
and enjoy the view and city light of Pokhara from Sarangkot. Paragliding can
also be done from Sarangkot. From Sarangkot, on the northern direction we can
see Dhaulagiri in the far west. Annapurna range is visible when the weather is
clear on the same side. On the southern direction the village overlooks the
city of Pokhara and its lake on the north-western outskirts of the city.
Bindhyabasini
Temple
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| Bindhyabasini Temple |
Bindhyabasini Temple is also
one of the most popular and well known temple in Pokhara.It is situated in the
laps of Machhapuchhare and Annapurna ranges.This temple lies in the north of
Pokhara. This temple is 850m above from the sea level. You can get a fabulous
view of Pokhara city and the Himalayas from this temple. The aroma of the
scented “Dhup” and refreshing air can keep anyone spellbound.
This temple originated when
the Goddess “Bhawani “ told king khadag Bum Malla to establish her statue in
Bindhyachal hill.This temple was established in B.S 1845 since then this
goddess is worshipped daily.Even the tourists visits at least once there. This
temple is one of the most important holy places for the Hindu people.The
government has even printed its stamp with the picture of the temple in the
year 2045.
Bhadra Kali Temple
Pokhara is not only god
gifted place surrounded by the natural beauty but also rich from the historical
view. Here you can find many historical oriented temples reflecting the ancient
periods of the Nepal . Among the various temples in this city, Bhadrakali
temple is one of them .This temple is in the east of the city.
In the year 1817 B.S this
temple was previously known as “Mudule Thumpko”.It is 230 ft. above the sea
level and is surrounded by greenery which gives it a peaceful environment.
This temple came into origin
when the Goddess “ Bhadrakali “ told the Priest to dig the hill .There they
found the statue of the Goddess since then it has been worshipped as
“BhadraKali”.
This temple covers an area
of about 135 ropanies of land .People worship goddess Bhadrakali to fulfill
their wish. Lot of marriage ceremony take place in this temple and some people
even use it as a picnic spot.
Matepani Gumba
There is a splendid Buddhist
Monastry on the top of the small forested hill above Matepani east of Mahendra
pool. It overlooks a large section of the Pokhara city and once there on find
oneself lost in time amid the chanting Ramas, there colossal guardian images of
the Buddha accompanying two other gurus and a prayer house with exquisitely
carved columns and friezes.
International Mountain Musium
The Himalaya is the greatest
mountain system in the world. It stretches 2400 km from east to west between
Nanga Parbat and Namcha Barwa peaks. Most find such an immense range of
mountains hard to envisage because the scale is beyond one's experience.
Cradled among the mountains
in the central Himalaya with profusion of high peaks lies the Nepal. Of the
fourteen peaks in the world that exceed 8,000 meters no fewer than eight of
them are in Nepal, including Mt. Everest the highest in the world.
The mystery of the unknown,
sheer beauty of majestic peaks and above all, an urge to experience the
challenge of climbing world's highest mountains have attracted thousands of
climbers to the Himalayan slopes.
The first tentative steps
towards Himalayan climbing were taken in 1920's, and several expedition teams
were able to make important exploration and significant progress in climbing
Mt. Everest, Nanga Parbat, K2, and Kanchenjunga. However, it was only after the
opening of the Nepal Himalaya, followed by the successful ascents of the first
peak over 8000m - Annapurna I by Maurice Herzog and Luis Lachenal in 1950 and
Mt. Everest in 1953 by Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and New Zealander Edmund Hillary,
the mountaineering activities in the Himalaya started to gain wider popularity.
The current work of the IMM
project involves phase one of the project. Works in this phase includes the
construction and completion of the main Museum Hall building which will house
the halls for exhibit display, audio visual hall and conservation room for
exhibits. The Museum Hall building covers a total floor area of 4242sq m of the
total 12.5 acres of the land owned by the Nepal Mountaineering Association
(NMA) for the IMM Project.
There will be two main
exhibition halls, Hall of the Great Himalaya and Hall of World Mountains. These
Halls will have models of famous peaks, mannequins of famous climbers,
equipment and material used in mountaineering, culture and life style of
mountain peoples, flora and fauna including geologic.
Gorkha Museum
GURKHA
SOLDIERS joined the British Army since 1815 and later into the Indian Army
after it's independence in 1947. The MUSEUM concentrates on their history to
current British Army and the Indian Army. The displays include hundreds of
PHOTOGRAPHS of the many CAMPAIGNS they took part in and their REGIMENTAL LIFE.
The 3-FLOOR GALLERIES are brought alive by SOUND and COLOURED LIGHT. Displays
also include uniforms they wore, items they used and medals they won. Details
of the Gurkha VICTORIA CROSS winners, the highest bravery medal with their
citations can also be viewed.
Butterfly museum
Annapurna
Natural History Museum (ANHM) is located within the compound of Prithivi
Narayan Campus of Pokhara, a unique museum that offers a rare collection of nearly
90% of the 640 species of butterflies found in Nepal. Beside such a precious
collection of butterflies, this museum does offer a large collection of
wildlife, plants, insects and birds found in Nepal. The museum was established
in 1965 with the purpose of drawing students and visitor’s attention towards
the diverse of Nepal’s flora and fauna. The museum attracted the attention of
some well known scholars and well wishers alike. Among them the names of
Dorothy and Colin Smith are unforgettable. The large collection of butterflies
in the museum has much scientific importance and attracted so much attention
that this museum was nicknamed “The Butterfly Museum.” Butterflies have been
duly categorized in different environments and climates. The museum also has an
interesting collection of various species of moths and tropical insects.
Regional
Museum in Pokhara
Regional
Museum is located between the airport and Mahendra Pul & reflects the
ethnic mosaic of Western Nepal. The lifestyles and history of ethnic groups
such as the Gurung, Thakali and the Tharu are attractively displayed.
Tibetan
Refugee Camp at pokhara
There
are the two Tibetan villages in the vicinity of Pokhara. One of them called
Tashiling is in the south past patale chhango. The other village by the name of
Tashi Palkhel lies north of Pokhara at a place called Hyanja on Pokhara Baglung
Highway. The Tibetan people living in these villages keep themselves busy by
producing and trading in woolen carpets and other handicraft items. They also
run souvenir shops around lakeside. Some of them work like hawkers selling
souvenirs at bargaining prices.
For more Detail BHAKTI DEVKOTA
Trek and tour operator all over Nepal (since 1997)
bhakti8848@gmail.com
Tel: 00977-9846139572
http://nepal8848.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/bhakti.mountain.guide
Trek and tour operator all over Nepal (since 1997)
bhakti8848@gmail.com
Tel: 00977-9846139572
http://nepal8848.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/bhakti.mountain.guide
See you in Pokhara Nepal ..........................
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