FEWATAL ATTRACTION (NEAPL) – POKHARA LURES WITH LAKES AND PEAKS.
Unless you go on a mountaineering expedition, there are few places like Pokhara where you can be closed to the Himalaya. And that too in the comfort of a luxury hotel room. A valley covered in luxuriant vegetation and dotted with ice-clear lakes. Pokhara offers one of the most stunning vistas in the world. Its skyline stretches into a 140-km panorama of Himalayan peaks that seem so close as if you could reach out touch them.
No wonder this spectacular ensemble of lakes and mountains ha made Pokhara the second most popular destination in the Kingdom after Kathmandu. About one-third of all visitors to Nepal make it a point to do an R & R stop in Pokhara. Mountain scenery cultural life, traditional hills, and boating on Himalayan lakes are some of Pokhara’s major lures.
This resort city, some 200 km to the west of Kathmandu, straddles the spectacular Fewatal (Lake Fewa) and sprawls over a valley beneath the Annapurna massif. The mighty cluster includes five summits. The highest point of the range, Annapurna I (8,091 m), was the first “eight-thousander” peak in the world to be climbed by humans. A French expedition made the feat in 1950.
In the old days, Pokhara used to be an important stopover on the trade routes to the north and beyond to Tibet. Mule caravans still file through the streets of the town, hauling loads of salt and yak wool. The sky over Pokhara is blocked out by the splendid forked pinnacle of Mt Machhapuchhre, or the fish-tail peak. The rock and ice top (altitude 6,977 m) is only 45 km away, and it looms overhead wherever you go in Pokhara. Its white reflection can even be seen on the lake’s surface.
Pokhara is also the base for expeditions into the central Himalaya, and the starting or ending point on the enormously popular Annapurna circuit trek. A galaxy of star-hotels and tourist-standard accommodation is available in Pokhara. Tour operators usually combine the resort town as an excursion with a Kathmandu sojourn. It also comes as part of a package comprising the Kathmandu-Pokhara-Chitwan (jungle safari) circuit.
Pokhara’s geology is another extraordinary aspect that embodies its pristine beauty and inspires awe in all visitors. Imagine a town with a Grand Canyon running through Main Street, that’s Pokhara. Its fashionable central business district is split in half by a bottomless fissure in the rock substratum, called the Seti Gorge. The northern end of Pokhara is marked by a series of large limestone caves, known as the Mahendra Gufa. Another mysterious hole in the ground is Devin’s fall, towards the southern end of town, where the water of Lake Phewa disappears in an awesome whirlpool. The eerie cavern formation was carved in the rock by water flowing out of the lake.
Pokhara’s attraction above, under and on the ground offer the advantages of access to wild natural beauty without strenuous expeditionary efforts in the high Himalaya. For those who do not have the stamina or the time to puff up mountain tails, Pokhara is the epitome of the Himalayan scenery – snow peaks, crystal lakes and idyllic charm.
Pokhara is connected by two highways – one from Kathmandu and the other from Bhairahawa near the Indian border – as well as daily flights from Kathmandu. The most favored way to Pokhara is by bus from Kathmandu, and most visitors make it in this fashion. Flying to Pokhara from Kathmandu is the second choice, with 40% of sightseers making the 35-minute air hop. Many Indian visitors enter Nepal by land through the border-town of Bhairahawa, and take a jaunt around Pokhara before proceeding to Kathmandu. Travelers arriving by bus form Bhairahawa make up 5% of arrivals. But however, they come to Pokhara, all visitors are sure to return completely rejuvenated in body and mind.
No wonder this spectacular ensemble of lakes and mountains ha made Pokhara the second most popular destination in the Kingdom after Kathmandu. About one-third of all visitors to Nepal make it a point to do an R & R stop in Pokhara. Mountain scenery cultural life, traditional hills, and boating on Himalayan lakes are some of Pokhara’s major lures.
This resort city, some 200 km to the west of Kathmandu, straddles the spectacular Fewatal (Lake Fewa) and sprawls over a valley beneath the Annapurna massif. The mighty cluster includes five summits. The highest point of the range, Annapurna I (8,091 m), was the first “eight-thousander” peak in the world to be climbed by humans. A French expedition made the feat in 1950.
In the old days, Pokhara used to be an important stopover on the trade routes to the north and beyond to Tibet. Mule caravans still file through the streets of the town, hauling loads of salt and yak wool. The sky over Pokhara is blocked out by the splendid forked pinnacle of Mt Machhapuchhre, or the fish-tail peak. The rock and ice top (altitude 6,977 m) is only 45 km away, and it looms overhead wherever you go in Pokhara. Its white reflection can even be seen on the lake’s surface.
Pokhara is also the base for expeditions into the central Himalaya, and the starting or ending point on the enormously popular Annapurna circuit trek. A galaxy of star-hotels and tourist-standard accommodation is available in Pokhara. Tour operators usually combine the resort town as an excursion with a Kathmandu sojourn. It also comes as part of a package comprising the Kathmandu-Pokhara-Chitwan (jungle safari) circuit.
Pokhara’s geology is another extraordinary aspect that embodies its pristine beauty and inspires awe in all visitors. Imagine a town with a Grand Canyon running through Main Street, that’s Pokhara. Its fashionable central business district is split in half by a bottomless fissure in the rock substratum, called the Seti Gorge. The northern end of Pokhara is marked by a series of large limestone caves, known as the Mahendra Gufa. Another mysterious hole in the ground is Devin’s fall, towards the southern end of town, where the water of Lake Phewa disappears in an awesome whirlpool. The eerie cavern formation was carved in the rock by water flowing out of the lake.
Pokhara’s attraction above, under and on the ground offer the advantages of access to wild natural beauty without strenuous expeditionary efforts in the high Himalaya. For those who do not have the stamina or the time to puff up mountain tails, Pokhara is the epitome of the Himalayan scenery – snow peaks, crystal lakes and idyllic charm.
Pokhara is connected by two highways – one from Kathmandu and the other from Bhairahawa near the Indian border – as well as daily flights from Kathmandu. The most favored way to Pokhara is by bus from Kathmandu, and most visitors make it in this fashion. Flying to Pokhara from Kathmandu is the second choice, with 40% of sightseers making the 35-minute air hop. Many Indian visitors enter Nepal by land through the border-town of Bhairahawa, and take a jaunt around Pokhara before proceeding to Kathmandu. Travelers arriving by bus form Bhairahawa make up 5% of arrivals. But however, they come to Pokhara, all visitors are sure to return completely rejuvenated in body and mind.
posted by Upadhyay @ 7:45 AM
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