Nepal's second city and trekking gateway — Annapurna reflections in a lake, paragliders over the Phewa, and the most dramatic sunrise views in Asia
Pokhara is Nepal's second city and the gateway to the Annapurna Conservation Area — the starting and finishing point for the Annapurna Circuit and Base Camp treks, which draw hundreds of thousands of hikers each year. The city sits beside Phewa Lake at 822m elevation, with the entire Annapurna Massif (including Annapurna I, 8,091m, the world's 10th highest) visible from the lakeside on clear mornings — the reflection of Machhapuchhre (Fish Tail) in the lake is one of Nepal's iconic images. The tourist strip on the lake's north shore (Lakeside) has the full range of trekking agencies, gear sho…
Pokhara was historically a trading post on the salt routes between India and Tibet, controlled by the Kaski Kingdom before Prithvi Narayan Shah unified Nepal in the 18th century. The city's transformation into a tourist destination began in the 1960s–70s with the opening of Nepal to trekkers; until then it was a remote town only connected to Kathmandu by road in 1973. The Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), established in 1986, became a model for community-based conservation in developing countries.