| Hiking and Biking |
Hiking & Biking
Pokhara, besides being one of the major city of the
Himalayan kingdom, NEPAL, is the place from where one
can start the most exciting treks to the Annapurna
region, which is seen hanging out in front of you as you
enter the Pokhara. These mountains are just 30 - 40 km
away from Pokhara...
Trekking in Pokhara is very new and started only three
decades ago. Annapurna was the first mountain in Nepal
to be climbed in 1950, before Everest, which afterwards
attracted the people from all over the world. After the
successful climb of the Annapurna the attention of the
world came to Pokhara as its scenic beauty couldn't be
overlooked. Pokhara was soon the destination of all
tourists who visited Nepal and within three decades it
has become the major tourist attraction after Kathmandu.
One of the major attraction that fetch tourists is
trekking. Since Pokhara is the best place to set out to
the rural villages that are lying in the mountains, many
tourist visit Pokhara each year for this purpose.
From Pokhara you can enjoy one day trips, short trips
and long trips. Under one day trips, you can travel to
the place around the valley and enjoy the natural beauty
with very friendly people. Short trip means the trek
lasting for about a week and the treks that take more
than a week are categorized as long trips.
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Sarangkot
This small village, perked on top of a hill just 5
kilometers from Pokhara's Lakeside seems to be making
something of a comeback, after falling from tourist
favor about fifteen years ago. In those days the start
of trekking in the Annapurna region usually started at
Bindabasini Mandir, north of Pokhara, and took the
trekker through Sarangkot and along the ridge to Nayapul.
The completion of the Pokhara-Baglung road changed all
that! This year the only good news in a dismal tourist
season has been the explosion in numbers of people
trying their hand at paragliding and the place from
where to launch oneself into the air is Sarangkot.
Lodges and restaurants are reporting a better business.
But you might also want to come here for wonderful
mountain views, quite enjoyable walking along the ridge
top or simply to escape the heat of Pokhara. At 1592
meters above sea level, Sarangkot is a good five degrees
cooler than Pokhara.
Pokhara –Sarangkot-Pokhara
The Sarangkot hill is very popular for its best
Mountains and sunrise view. We start our trip early
morning around 5-5:30 am by car .Normally sun rises at 6
am. After the sunrise and Mountain View we walk down
from sarangkot along with the pokhara city view and the
Fewa lake view with green forest. We walk around 4-5
hours.
Note:-The length of the time depends on your choice of
route.
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Dhampus
Pokhara- sarangkot- Naudanda- Dhampus – Pokhara (2 days)
This route is popular both for mountain and sunrise view
and to experience the Nepalese village life. The view
point, Sarangkot offers the excellent panoramic view of
Annapurnas and the sunrise while Naudanda offers the
dramatic view of the twin tails of Machapuchhre
(Fishtail) and the massif Dhaulagiri view. We walk
through the Kaskikot village ,Naudanda village and the
culturally rich Dhampus village where the view of
Annapurnas seems very close and we can feel the cool and
fresh air of the mountains.
Pokhara-Dhampus –Naudanda-Pokhara (1 day)
The main focus of the hike in this area is the scenic
beauty of Naudanda and the ancient traditional culture
and the great panoramic view of mountains from Dhampus
village. While walking we pass through the diverse
forest with the rhododendron and wild orchid flowers. We
walk through the terraced rice fields and through the
stone houses with thatched roofs.
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Pokhara-Lahachowk - Ghahachowk-Pokhara (2 days)
This route offers the scenic beauty and the oldest
settlement rich in culture; we start our walk from the
Hemja village, famous for orange garden. We cross Seti
and Mardi River to reach this typical Gurung village.
Pokhara - Chapakot-Pokhara (1 day)
After the 45 minute drive from Pokhara, we start walking
from Pame west of Pokhara. We follow the Harpan River,
the source of Phewa Lake then climb the hills with small
villages. We walk through paddy field with the mountain
and lake view.
Pokhara-Ramche Danda- Pokhara (1-2 days)
After 45 minutes drive south of Pokhara, we start our 7
hours hike climbing the hills, passing through villages
and cultivated land. We walk through the forest of
religious Chandan and oak tree. The smell of mountain
can be sensed when we walk through the extensive forest
of Rhododendron.
Pokhara - Foksing-Pokhara (1-2 days)
Around 10 minutes of drive south of pokhara we climb the
hill passing the suspension bridge. The Foksing hill is
popular for its fascinating mountain view. The Orange
garden and the terraced rice fields and the typical
Nepali houses with thatched roof can be experienced. The
length of stay could be prolonged if you are interested
to stay overnight with the villagers.
Pokhara-Kalikasthan-Pokhara (1-2 days)
This is the best view point to view the serene 7 lakes
around Pokhara. The panoramic view of Annapurnas and the
experience of village life is the highlight of the
hiking.
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Pokhara- World Peace Pagoda -Pokhara (1 day)
World Peace Pagoda, a massive Buddhist stupa is situated
on the top of a hill on the southern shore of Phewa
Lake. Besides being a impressive sight in itself, the
shrine is a great vantage point which offers the
spectacular views of the Annapurna range, Phewa Lake,
and the Pokhara city. We Climb the Raniban forest
crossing the suspension bridge. After the 2 hours of
walk we reach stupa and enjoy the spiritual and scenic
beauty. Climbing down from Pagoda is more enjoyable with
the view of Phewa Lake and the mountains. We cross the
lake after the 20 minutes of boating with the visit to
island temple (Barahi temple) in the middle of lake.
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Kahun Dada
It is another enchanting hill north of Pokhara and takes
about two and a half hours to reach from Mahendrapul.
The trails starts from near the army barrack at Phulbari
across Mahendrapul and climbs slowly up a slope. The
essential view from top of this hill is the panoramic
view of the Annapurna range and the flat span of Pokhara
valley.
Pokhara-Kahun Danda – Pokhara (1-2 days)
Normally, this is one day hiking route but if you are
interested to spend some time with the villagers you can
make it for 2 days. The Khaun Danda (1520 m) to the
northeast of Pokhara has a ruined fort on the summit as
well as a view tower with spectacular scenery. The
dramatic change of colors after the sunrise on the
Annapurnas gives you the experience of natural beauty.
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Trekking Permit ( This Section is extracted from the
Nepal's Multimedia CD )
A foreigner intending to trek in any part of the Kingdom
of Nepal shall have to obtain a trekking permit from the
Department of Immigration, Tridevi Marg and permits are
issued for trekking in any part of the country except in
areas restricted for the foreigners by the government
regulation. Trekking permit is not essential for the
general trekking areas such as the Everest, the
Annapurna and the Langtang.
This Photo features a trekking route to Muktinath.
Muktinath is a 5 hrs trek from Jomsom. The snap here
also shows caravan of yaks within the bank of
Kaligandaki river. This is one of the most popular river
here in Nepal. Jomsom is a 20 minute flight route from
Pokhara and about 75% of the tourist who visit Pokhara
decides flying to Jomsom.
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Trekking permit should be obtained for the following
places:
Lower Dolpa and Kanchenjunga – Equivalent to US$ 10 per
person per week for the first four weeks and US$ 20 per
week thereafter.
Manaslu – US$ 90 per person per week for trekking during
Sept-Nov and US$ 75 per week during December-August.
Humla – US$ 90 for the first seven days and US$ 15 per
day thereafter.
Upper Mustang and Upper Dolpa – US$ 700 per person for
the first ten days and US$ 70 person per day thereafter.
Note: Trekking to Dolpa, Kanchenjunga, Makalu and Upper
Mustang can be undertaken through registered trekking
agencies only. For trekking through National Park Areas
and entrance fee of Rs. 650 is levied. Likewise, an
entrance fee of Rs. 2000 is levied for trekking at the
Annapurna Conservation Area by the ACAP (POKHARA).
Trekking permits are obtained from the Department of
Immigration, New Baneshwor and permits are issued for
trekking in any part of the country except in areas
restricted for the foreigners by government regulation.
Climate: Nepal has a typical monsoonal two – season year
. There is dry season from October to May and there is
the wet season , the monsoon , from June to September
.September – November the start of the dry season , is
in many ways the best time of the year in Nepal . When
monsoon just ends , the countryside is green and lush .
Nepal is at its most beautiful and during this season
there are plenty of colorful festivals to enjoy.
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Temperature Chart (in Celsius)
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.
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Rainfall Chart: (in mm)
Months Kathmandu Pokhara Chitwan
January 25 15 10
February 25 15 10
March 75 30 10
April 50 50 15
May 100 300 200
June 225 575 300
July 375 800 500
August 360 700 450
September 175 575 400
October 50 220 100
November 10 20 5
December 10 5 5
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