THE ENCHANTMENT OF POKHARA

Everyone who visits Nepal falls in love with Pokhara.  One reason is views of the Himalayas like this from Phewa Lake.  You’re only at 2,600 feet while soaring far above you are the world’s 7^th highest mountain, Dhaulagiri ((26,795’) to the left, the 10^th highest, Annapurna (26,545’) in the center, and the unclimbed sacred peak of Machapuchare (match-a-pooch-a-ree, 23,000’) to the right.

The low altitude gives Pokhara (poke-a-rah) delightful spring-like weather most of the year, the town oozes charm and gracious hospitality with wonderfully fun bar-restaurants like the Moondance Café.  As Nepal’s adventure capital, there’s whitewater rafting, tandem parasailing and motorized hang-gliding, as well as the launching pad for Nepal’s most famous trek, the Annapurna Circuit.

Or you can simply relax by the lake or be paddled around it in a canoe for birdwatching.  We always end our Himalaya Helicopter Expeditions here, which we’ll do again this coming October.  Hard to imagine a better place to unwind. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #295, photo ©Jack Wheeler)