Ten Best Places to Visit in Pokhara in 2024
To help you plan your Pokhara tour, we’ve created a detailed guide with a complete idea of the Ten best places to visit in Pokhara in 2024.
Due to the affluent natural beauty and enriched cultural diversity, people want to experience Pokhara once in their lifetime. It’s also the gateway to the most exciting Annapurna region trekking. Whether you plan your stay solely in Pokhara or spend a few days before/after doing Annapurna Region Trekking, Pokhara keeps you amazed and relaxed.
Known for the voluminous lakes and elegant mountain glimpses, Pokhara is a true haven of natural aesthetics. If you love sightseeing and mountain views, Pokhara is the best place to choose. You are among 7,00,000 visitors who visit Pokhara annually. Moreover, it has seven well-renowned lakes; the city is also known as the “city of seven lakes”.
Pokhara is scenic and the hottest hub for various adventure sports. White water rafting, boating in Phewa Lake, paragliding, ultra-flight, hot air balloon, canoeing, honey hunting, bungee jumping, and cycling are already popular in the city.
Sitting 200 km west of Kathmandu’s capital city, it’s the second largest city in Nepal after Kathmandu. And reaching here is very convenient; either a 20-minute scenic Kathmandu Pokhara flight or an 8-hour bus drive via Prithvi Highway.
Here are the ten best places to visit in Pokhara, which are doable in just two to three days of your stay in the city. It’s that convenient.
1. Pokhara Shanti Stupa
Pokhara Shanti Stupa, among World Peace Pagoda, sits atop Anadau Hill in Pumdi Vumdi VDC on the Southern side of Phewa Lake. Altogether, there are eighty Peace Pagoda (Stupas) on Earth. Pokhara Shanti Stupa is among the two Peace Pagodas in Nepal, after the one in Lumbini. And for this reason, it’s among the best places in Pokhara worth the visit.
From the hilltop and periphery around Shanti Stupa, you’ll get the panoramic Annapurna range. More noticeably, you’ll see Machhapuchhre, Fewa Lake, and the entire Pokhara Valley in just one frame. Due to this, it is one of the best-hiking destinations for visitors in Pokhara. But recently, road construction has made this place easy to access; you only need to hike a little if you plan to visit this stupa.
Reaching Pokhara Shanti Stupa
Pokhara Shanti Stupa is just 7 km from Mahendrapul, Pokhara’s busiest hub. Drive, cycling, hiking, whichever you prefer, takes you to this stupa comfortably.
If you want to hike here, you can cross the Fewa Lake on the boat and gradually ascend through some villages for a few hours.
You can even take a bus drive or hire a taxi from anywhere in Pokhara that reaches the stupa.
2. Sarangkot – A best place to stay in Pokhara
A trip to Sarangkot, 30 minutes drive from Lakeside Pokhara, is a must-visit hilltop destination if you’re in Pokhara. And if you get bored with the hustling bustling city of Pokhara, staying overnight for a day or two at Sarangkot gives you a peaceful yet scenic stay.
Whether you’re with friends, family, or even for a honeymoon, the serenity inbound Sarangkot has everything to offer. Amidst the local Pokhreli settlements at Sarangkot and Toripani, the luxurious hotels offer lavish amenities, surrounded by tranquillity.
Sarangkot offers a mesmerizing glimpse of Machhapuchhre, Dhaulagiri, and other mountains of the Annapurna range. Also, this best vantage point near Pokhara offers the best sunrise view. Moreover, you’ll enjoy the full panoramic view of Pokhara from the North to Fewa Lake on the South.
Things to do in Sarangkot
- Paragliding: Paragliding in Pokhara is one of the most loved adventure sports. Paragliding from Sarangkot to Phewa Lakeshore is among the best in the world and ranks two in the top ten best paragliding places. The cost of flying on a paraglider is highly affordable. You’ll fly for 25 minutes and enjoy seeing the Annapurna mountains, beautiful hilltops, villages, Phewa Lake, and the entire Pokhara valley.
- Overnight stay/ Honeymoon Trip: A Plethora of lavish star-rated hotels and beautiful homestays in Sarangkot makes it best place to stay in Pokhara. A visit to Sarangkot and an overnight stay there takes you away from the bustling and bustling Pokhara valley. The mesmerizing Annapurna mountains to the North and the beautiful Pokahra valley and Phews Lake to the South offers a pleasing viewing experience.Moreover, if you’re planning Honeymoon Tours in Nepal, you should take advantage of your trip to Sarangkot. If you make it, you’ll have a wholesome honeymoon vacation.
- Sunrise from Sarangkot: Sarangkot Vantage point is best for sunrise. The early morning visit to Sarangkot is a mandatory culture among those who visit Pokhara Lakeside.The beautiful sunrise over the Machhapuchhre mountain, beautiful Seti river valley, and surrounding hilltops when viewed from Sarangkot awe-struck you.
How to reach Sarangkot?
Northwest of Pokhara, this 1600 meters altitude is the best place for tourists. You can reach here by taking a private vehicle, jeep, and even a tourist bus. In recent years, with cable car construction from Pokhara Lakeside to Sarangkot, people are now more fascinated with staying a day or two at this hilltop.
It is the popular paragliding launching point in Pokhara and second best in the world. Plan for a visit to Sarangkot? Then plan for early morning sightseeing because the sunrise will steal your heart.
3. Phewa Lake
Phewa Lake, the second largest lake in Nepal and the largest lake in Pokhara, is one of the best places to visit in Pokhara. Undoubtedly, it’s among the prominent tourist attractions in Lakeside Pokhara for internal and foreign travellers. It covers an area of 5.23 square kilometres and has an average depth of 8.6 meters.
The magnificent reflection of Machhapuchhre, Annapurna, and Dhaulagiri makes this lake a must-visit site. Kayaking, Boating, and Paddle-boarding are other popular activities tourists do in Phewa Lake.
Tal Barahi Temple sits on a tiny island in the heart of Phewa Lake. This two-storied pagoda-style temple is dedicated to lord Vishnu, the Water God. Reaching this temple is only possible by boating. Hence, people first visit this temple and enjoy boating later.
Things to do in Phewa Lake
- Boating: Boating is a popular day activity among travellers in Phewa Lake. Usually, a paddler paddles a boat around Phewa Lake for an hour. But you can also hire a boat for any hours you want. You can also hire a paddle board in Phewa Lake at the most affordable rates.
- Tal Barahi Temple: Tal Barahi Temple sits on the tiny island of Phewa Lake. And the coming first takes you to this temple. It’s a Hindu temple but open to people of different religions. As April-May and November-December are festive months in Nepal, more people visit this temple.
Reaching Phewa Lake
Phewa Lake is easily accessible in Pokhara by public bus or private jeep and taxi. You can find a cab or public vehicles that reach Phewa Lake.
From other cities like Kathmandu, flying to Pokhara is the quickest way. However, you can also take a tourist bus ride from Kathmandu to Pokhara, but it takes 8-10 hours.
4. Begnas Lake- Best places to visit in Pokhara
Begnas Lake is the heart of Pokhara, and those who visit this beautiful lake realise it’s among the best places to visit in Pokhara. After Phewa Lake, with increased tourism activity in recent years, Begnas Lake is Pokhara’s most popular tourist destination.
Sitting South-East of Pokhara Valley, this lake’s fresh, green and tranquil environment makes it a must-visit place for tourists.
It’s is the third largest freshwater lake system in Nepal: Rara Lake and Phewa Lake. It covers an area of 3.28 sq. km and has a max depth of 10 meters.
Thing to do in Bengnas Lake
- Grilled Fish at Majhikuna: The name Majhikuna translates to Fish Corner. And so is the palace, known for local fishes, alive and grilled with spices. It’s among the authentic but late noticed place in Pokhara, which now is among the most visited. Birdwatching, sunset, swimming, fishing, and chilling with a beer and grilled fish are popular activities in this place.
It’s best if you’re in a group or with friends and want to spend a perfect day in nature. But remember to take a reasonable sum of money as this place is costly, given the tranquillity, fun, vibes, and grilled fish. It’s just two and a half kilometres distance from Begnas bus station.
Ways to reach Begnas Lake
If you’re in Prithvi Chowk or even at Lakeside in Pokhara, you’ll have plenty of options to reach Beganas Lake.
This beautiful lake is just 15 km away from the core city of Pokhara and Lakeside. The public bus is the most preferred transport by travellers to reach Begnas Lake. You can get the bus from Lakeside from Camping Chowk Bus Stop, which takes you to Begans in 40 minutes. And those in private tours hire a local taxi and even private jeeps and vans.
As the streets in Pokhara are board, cycle-friendly, well-maintained and clean, a cycle ride to Begnas Lake could be ideal. It gives you a chance to peddle through the city, gives you physical exercise, and also promotes sustainable tourism.
5. Mahendra cave
Mahendra cave is the most famous cave in Pokhara valley, making it a must visit place in Pokhara. It sits opposite the Bat’s cave, a renowned cave tourists love visiting in Pokhara. The late king Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah inaugurated this cave in the 1950s; thus, it got its name.
Due to unique limestone formations and orientation, almost every traveller in Pokahra wishes to visit this cave and make an actual visit every year. As it’s easily accessible and sits opposite Bat’s Cave, you can see both caves on a single trip.
In the middle of the cave is a Hindu Lord Shiva statue.
Lighted with bright artificial lights, a person in Mahendra cave can see the beautiful view of the cave where stalactites scintillate as the light falls over them.
Reaching Mahendra Cave
Mahendra Cave is accessible by foot, bus, taxi, or private vehicles. If you’re in Pokhara airport, you can take either taxi or a local bus, which takes thirty and sixty minutes, respectively. And if you’re in Prithvi Chowk, whichever you prefer from the means mentioned above, it’ll take ten minutes shorter.
6. Bat’s Cave (Chamere Gufa)
Bat’s cave is among the best places to visit in Pokhara. And if you love seeing an uncountable number of bats, this cave is waiting for you. Eighteen species of Horseshoe bats, more than 15000 in total, stick themselves on this dark U-shaped limestone cave.
The inner walls painting leaves you in awe with different shapes of elephant tusks and Hindu deities.
Unlike Mahendra’s cave, in Bat’s cave, there are each entry and exit points. The exit hole is very narrow, and people must climb to reach it and get out. It’s believed that a sinister person can never escape the exit hole in Bat’s Cave.
Want to try exiting from the hole and find out if you’re sinister or auspicious?
How to reach the Bat’s Cave in Pokhara?
Bat’s cave and Mahendra Cave are in the same place, just fronting each other. Also, it’s close to Devis Fall.
Thus, if you’re planning for Bat’s cave visit in Pokhara, immediately plan the trip to Mahendra Cave and Devis Falls.
You can take a taxi or public bus or hire a scooter and bike anywhere in Pokhara. You can even use ride-sharing apps like Pathao and inDrive, which offer ride-sharing services at affordable rates. And also, these are a lot faster than the public buses.
7. Gupteshwor Temple
Whether you’re a Hindu Pilgrim or a traveller, Gupteshwor Temple is among best places to visit in Pokhara.
Gupteshwor temple lies 2 km from Pokhara airport on the Siddhartha highway, southwest of the city. It’s the longest cave in Pokahra and Nepal. Even after its first discovery in 1950 A.D, the proper entrance of this cave was made in 1991 A.D.
Divided into two sections, Gupteshwor Temple visitors can visit a 40-meter-long natural cave with Shiva Linga in the centre. And to reach here, you must take a thousand stairs.
Another part of this cave begins after the temple’s end and leads to the waterfall of Devi’s falls. The entrance is relatively narrower, but the inner part of the cave is wide open. You can see the cascading Devis falls and its milky white water streams via some cave sections.
8. Bindabasini Temple
Built in 1760, Bindabasini temple in Pokhara, Nepal, is the oldest and most famous Hindu temple. Those planning pilgrimage tours in this city visit Bindabasini and Tal Barahi, making these two the most visited pilgrimage sites.
Devoted to the Goddesses Durga, often known as Kali or Durga, Bindhabasini Temple is a piece of Sikhara Styled Temple.
Standing at Bindabasini Temple, you can view the Annapurna panorama to the north. And the beautiful glimpse of Pokhara is on the south of this temple.
Most notably, it was the frequent worshipping place for former kings of Nepal. Also, many Indian Army Chiefs visit this temple each year to seek blessings from the goddesses.
As Pokhara sees more than one million tourists each year, more than half visit, this temple to complete the bucket list of best places in Pokhara. Are you travelling to Pokhara anytime soon? If so, remember to visit this sacred Bindhabasini Temple.
Accessing Bindhabasini Temple
Like every other place in Pokhara, Bindhabasini Temple is also an easy-access place. It doesn’t matter wherever you’re in the city; any transportation can take you to Bindhabasini within 30 minutes to one hour.
The best thing about this temple is that it’s wheelchair accessible destination in Pokhara. There’s an elevator for disabled and elderly citizens to reach the temple premise without worrying about the staircase. It can accommodate 12 people at once.
9. Devi’s Falls (Patale Chango)- Best place to visit in Pokhara for day tour
Devis’s falls, locally known as Patale Chango, in Pokahra, is the most visited place in Pokahra, together with Gupteshwor Temple. It’s equally popular among the locals and foreigners.
Sitting south of Phewa Lake and in the Seti River’s gorge, visiting here in monsoon rain and winter never fails to amaze you. The Phewa Lake water drains into a dam and channels through the 500 feet of Devi’s Falls.
A tragic event on July 31st 1961, was the cause to name this David’s fall, but later it got changed to Devi’s falls. In Nepali, locals call it Patale Chango, which translates to the Underworld’s Waterfall. As water rushes down the fall, it enters the tunnel at Gupteshwor Mahadev Cave and disappears.
Reaching Devi’s falls
Anyone in Pokahra can give you the exact location of Devi’s Falls and from where to take the bus. If you’re in Lakeside, you can take a local bus or private taxi.
Most travellers stay at Lakeside and take the local bus from Camping Chowk.
10. International Mountain Museum
If you love mountains and mountaineers, their long daring history, and the present mountaineering developments, then International Mountain Museum can be a place to visit in Pokhara.
The concept of this museum began in 2002 with a soft opening and opened officially for visitors in 2004. It belongs to the Nepal Mountaineering Association, the mountaineering governing body of Nepal.
Visiting here can feed you profound information regarding the big mountains in the Himalayas, especially Nepal. Furthermore, the hall of the Mountain People Gallery showcases photos of mountain people and their cultures.
International Mountain Museum also has a beautiful garden where you can rest and view the great Annapurna panorama, Machhapuchhre being the prominent and utter visile.
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