Pokhara

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We were disapointed when we first arrived in Pokhara. We were hoping that once we left the capital the air would clear and we would see our first views of the mighty Himalayers. However, the air was still hazy and visability was shocking. On clear days there isn't a part of Pokhara where you cant see one or more of the huge snowy peaks jutting into the blue sky. We were brightened up though when the man who ran the hostel we were staying in told us that it had been beautifully clear that morning and he was hopeful it would be again the following morning.

Pokhara is Nepals second city in terms of tourism and it is used as a starting point for many of the popular treks around the mountains and so it recieves a lot of visitors. The touristy part of the town in centred around a lovely lake and this is where we stayed. The main strip is full of restaurants, sounvenir shops and trekking shops where you can pick up fake North Face gear for a few pounds, we bought a couple of fleeces.

That evening the clouds lifted and we got our first glimpses of the mountains. We were pretty excited, they looked amazing, and we decided that we would book a taxi the following morning to take us to Himalayan view point on top of a hill in a village called Sarangkot, hopeful that it would be clear.

The following morning was a beauty and we got up to Sarangkot in time to watch the sunrise over the Himalayas. The mountains revealed themselves slowly. As the sun began to rise the cloud parted a little at a time and every couple of minutes more of the mountains would appear from behind the cloud. By the time the sun was up in full it was completely clear and we had inspring panoramas of the range. It was a truly impressive specatacle spoiled only by an annoying hippy girl who was singing a song about brushing your teeth. We wanted to kill her. After absorbing the views for a while we made our way back to town, very pleased we'd finally seen views of the mountains. Our taxi driver told us we were very lucky and we had timed our visit to Pokhara perfectly. Until a few days prior to our visit the town hadn't had rain for seven months meaning the air was dry and thick with dust so the mountians had been hidden behing a haze for months. He told us about one guy who had been up to Sarangkot seven times but had seen no mountains. Luckily spring time storms had started in the afternoons which were clearing the air making visibility much better.

The only other thing we did in Pokhara worthy of note was our microlight flight over the foothills of the Himalaya. A microlight is a mix between a tiny plane and a hanglider. Again we did it early to make the most of the improved visibility which is much better in the mornings. We went up for half an hour and we had wonderful views of the mountains and a birds eye view of the town, the lake and the surrounding valley.

The rest of our time in Pokhara was spent preparing for our trek, wandering by the lake and eating a lot of good food at a lovely cheap restaurant near our guesthouse. It is a great place to hang out before embarking on a big trek as it has a lot of stodgy western food, imported wine, chocolate and anything else a westerner could crave.

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