Pokhara is Nepal’s gateway to the Annapurna Circuit and is situated along Phewa Lake. Its main street, Lakeview, runs along the lake’s northern coast. As you walk the streets you will see countless gear shops (selling 100% knockoff brands) and agencies selling all types of trekking tours. We hiked to Everest Base Camp back in 2016 just after the Earthquake when there were hardly a tourists visiting Nepal (read our overview on how to hike Everest Base Camp without an expensive package tour). We opted not to hike to Annapurna given the massive influx of tourists at this time. This article is a great primer as what to do while in Pokhara other than visiting Annapurna Circuit.

Read about what to do in Kathmandu

How To Get to Pokhara

We took the night bus from Kathmandu to Pokhara. The night buses leave between 7:30 and 8:00 pm whereas the only other buses leave between 6:30 and 7:30 am in the morning. We were unable to book directly with the tour companies as they said we “had to come to their Kathmandu office”. We were still in a rural part doing our permaculture design certification so that wasn’t really an option. Luckily I was able to book the tickets using this website. You can also book a flight from Kathmandu if you do not want to waste a night (or day).

You can also book tickets using Klook Coupons

The bus made 4 or 5 stops throughout the night and we arrived into Pokhara just before 5am. We walked a while to get to our lovely hotel, which was located on the southern section of the tourist drag on Lakeside. The hotel was basic and included a simple breakfast. The staff and owners were very friendly and I encourage you to look into the hotel if you plan a visit to Pokhara. Read more on the Pokhara View Hotel.

Where to Stay in Pokhara

The southern part of Lakeview has many upscale hotels and restaurants. We were surprised to see menus in Russian, Chinese, and Korean. This part of Pokhara was obviously where short-term vacationers go. The northern section was much our pace. There were hostels, yoga and meditation venues, and vegan restaurants galore. Prices seemed more reasonable, too. I would recommend backpackers stick to the northern section of Lakeview.

Pokhara is much quieter than Kathmandu and if you really want some silence all you need to do is simply stay off their main street.

What To Do In Pokhara

Mountain Biking

We decided to go mountain biking during one of our days. Pokhara Mountain Bike Adventures is a very professional outfit and we were really impressed with the office, equipment, and tour guide. Unfortunately there were no views of the mountains, which was actually on par with our entire experience while in Pokhara. For more flexibility you can simply reserve your own bikes and venture our yourselves.

Working on your Spirituality

There are a handful of places where you can practice yoga, sit in group meditation, or enjoy some authentic sound healing. You will find posters all over, mostly within vegetarian-friendly restaurants. OR2K, a Kathmandu favorite has finally opened a location in Pokhara. The prices are a little high but their consistent quality more than makes up for it. There are a couple monasteries that give free Dharma Talks and even offer yoga and sound healing. Sometimes they charge a flat rate and other times it’s done by donation only so check in advance. Yoga courses ranged between $6 and $8. We did a few group sound healing by donation only, which I really enjoyed. Sylvie had missed the opportunity to do a private session during our last time in Nepal so she got a 90 minute private session this time around—the sound healing also included crystal healing (judgements reserved).

Eat Great Food

The food in Pokhara was absolutely lovely. There were vegetarian and vegan options everywhere you looked and at reasonable prices. We sampled nearly a dozen restaurants but two stood above all overs—Umbrella Café and Pumpernickel. The atmosphere of Umbrella Café takes the cake but Pumpernickel provided huge and delicious options. We also visited the Pumpernickel Café in Rishikesh, India, which was equally as good. Do yourself a favor and eat at Umbrella Café if you are craving a western-style salad. We came across Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Western, and even a Turkish restaurant in this gastronomically diverse city. 

Watch a Movie in the Jungle

A couple of international backpackers created a small outdoor movie theater back in 2015. They bought a small plot of land with rice terraces just a 5 minute walk from the main street. They built outdoor seating and a lovely bamboo bar. The place is known as Movie Garden. They charge 350 rupee (~$3 USD) per person and have 1 (one) filming per day any where form 7pm - 8pm. After the movie the play recorded concerts on the screen. Make sure to arrive at least 30 minutes early to reserve a good seat—They probably have enough seating for 40-50 people. They have simple bar snacks along with fresh pizza for sale. You can also buy wine and beer. All their prices are very high, so we snuck in some candy off the street. Although we enjoyed the atmosphere we would not return due to the heavy amount of cigarette smoke during the movie. We sat next to (on both sides) and directly above heavy smokers who chain smoked the entire movie. It was horrible and for this reason I cannot recommend this place to anybody who cares about their health in any real sort of way.

There are at least half a dozen other restaurants that play nightly movies on projectors so if you want something fun to do while not sacrificing you lungs or just want a more comfortable seating arrangement with better food options you should looking the handful of other options.

Watching Sunset

To be honest, as a world traveler, I’m a little spoiled when it comes to great sunset (I write this while in Bali). However I should still mention that many people go to one of the many restaurants for a happy hour drink to watch sunset over Phewa Lake.

Music and Dancing

There are many places that offer happy hour drinks and live music well into the night. We are not heavy drinkers and enjoy getting to bed at a reasonable hour so I cannot comment too much on this. Busy Bee is probably the most well-known restaurant to catch live music.

Learn a Little

We visited the mountain museum—an extensive multi floor exhibit on the regional cultures and geological history of the Himalayan mountain range. It was a primitive museum but we enjoyed our time. We left within an hour but I can see how some can make a half day out of it. We walked from our hotel, which took us less than 50 minutes. 

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