Lakeside:
Pokhara’s tourist district, or Lakeside as it is popularly known, spreads along almost half of the eastern shore of Phewa Lake. Hugging the lake’s shoreline, there is a long chain of business enterprises all ready to cater to the needs of visiting tourists: many hotels, many restaurants, many book shops, many souvenir shops, many provision shops, and many, many, many travel and trekking agents. Here accommodation ranges from budget lodges to luxury hotels.

Pokhara’s Lakeside was popularized in the early seventies by hippies who used to hang around the lake by the drove, and even today the area retains vestiges of that generation’s eccentricities. Loud music, outlandish signs, and peculiar names for hotels and restaurants like “The Hungry Eye,” “Moondance” and “Billy Bunter”, are some examples that defy transition.

Till a few decades ago, before the trans-Himalayan trade died down, Pokhara was a major depot in the trade between Tibet and central Nepal. Vestiges of this thriving trade that was mainly done through mule caravans can be found in the numerous caravanserais that are still present in settlements all along the Kali Gandaki Valley.

The Mountains of Pokhara
The Annapurna range as seen from Pokhara is probably the best-known scene from Nepal. Yet, even the most thorough familiarity with the view does not prepare one for the experience of seeing them in reality, as even regular visitors to Pokhara can attest. It often happens that clouds gather up during the afternoon and tourists, who generally land in Pokhara in the latter part of the day, see nothing but a blanket white to the north of Pokhara. This is all the more fortuitous since appreciation of this beautiful range is best when after a good night’s rest, one wakes up to find the entire lineup of these magnificent massifs spread out against the clear blue, crisp morning sky.

The Annapurna range is impressive by any standard. Looming ahead to take center stage is Machhapuchhare, or “Fishtail”, which gets its name from the shape of its summit. Flanking it on either side are the other great mountains of the range, including Annapurna I (8091 m), the first 8000-meter peak to be scaled. The range continues to meet the Lamjung Himal in the east while to its west looms the massive dome of Dhaulagiri (8167 m). Altogether an incomparable sight.

Sightseeing
The highlight of a stay in Pokhara is simply gazing at the mountains that lie strung across the northern sky. And what a sight it is. Starting from Dhaulagiri (8167 meters) in the extreme left, the view includes Annapurna South (7129 meters), Annapurna I (8091 meters), Machhapuchhare (6997 meters), Annapurna IV, Annapurna III (7444 meters), Annapurna II (7937 meters) and Lamjung (6983 meters). Nowhere else in the world can one enjoy such a magnificent panorama up so close while enjoying the comforts of sub-tropical surroundings.

To begin with, Pokhara’s bazaar area, especially the old part, is a fascinating place. Here, one can imagine the roll of the centuries as one walks along the stone-paved sidewalks of this quiet area. All commercial activities have shifted to other areas – so much the better since the old market still retains its quaint character of a town that time has passed by.Davis Fall is a small but extraordinary waterfall. Its original Nepali name of Patale Chhango has now given way to the Anglicized version because a tourist by the name of Davis plunged to his death in this particular fall. Although the cascade is not very puissant and spectacular, the shapes of the stones and rocks through which the water drains are really unique and worth seeing.