Pokhara is a breath of fresh air after Kathmandu and many travellers spend only a day or two
in the capital before heading out on their chosen adventure. At 800m above sea level, Pokhara
is at a lower altitude than Kathmandu and is generally a couple of degrees warmer.
Due to it's bowl shape the Kathmandu valley tends to hold much of the smog and pollution
whereas Pokhara stays relatively pollution free. The main city of Pokhara is not popular for
tourists as nearby there is a picturesque lake which attracts travellers with lots of cheap
places to stay and eat.
Lakeside or Damside ?
There are two main areas to stay and both have their own advantages and benefits. The two areas
are about 1km apart, Damside bieng at the point where the Phewa lake is dammed, Lakeside being
further to the North.
Personally I have only ever stayed in Lakeside, but having travelled through Damside many times
there are advantages. It's smaller and cheaper in Damside and it's much closer to the Airport.
The main advantage of damside for me would be the great views of all the Annapurna range to the
north. These views are more limited in Lakeside due to being blocked by the ridges near Sarangkot.
Lakeside
For the most part this guide will cover Lakeside. I wouldn't be inclined to stay in damside
just for the views - If your planning to raft or trek you'll get lots of chance to see great
views of the mountains anyway.
A Taxi from the bus station or airport will be about 100Rs into Lakeside. Orientation here
is easier than Thamel as there are less high rise buildings and most places stem from one
main road. Good starting points if you dont have lodgings already are the Snowland hotel or
Meera hotel. From here you are pretty central and there are many guest houses up the side
streets off this main road.
One guest house I have used regularly is the Iceland, just up the road from the Meera. The
prices are reasonable and they offer trekking advice and travel arrangements back to Kathmandu
or through to the Chitwan national park. They're be a fuller list of Pokhara hotels appearing
on the site soon.
If there is no Navigation Bar on the Left of this page it is likely that you have entered
from an old search-engine address.
Click
Here
to open the updated Raft-Nepal site in a new window.