POKHARA · NEPAL
Phewa Lake, Annapurna sunrise, the long way up.
Paragliding off the Sarangkot ridge, sunrise on the 8,000m peaks, and the trail-head for every Annapurna trek. Pokhara is the town Nepal’s trekkers come down to and start from.
Only in Pokhara
Three things you can’t do anywhere else.
Lake towns exist. Trekking gateways exist. Paragliding sites exist. Pokhara is the one place where all three sit on top of each other — thermal lift off the foothills, alpenglow on Annapurna I, the trail-head out the back door. Plan the trip around them.
Off the ridge
Paragliding above Phewa Lake
Pokhara is one of the world’s top five commercial paragliding sites. Tandem pilots launch off the Sarangkot ridge, ride the thermal lift that rises off the Annapurna foothills, and circle down to land on the shore of Phewa Lake. Annapurna I, Machhapuchhre and Annapurna South fill the eastern horizon the whole flight.
- 1 Paragliding
- 2 Paragliding at Sarangkot Pokhara
- 3 Pokhara: Adventure Paragliding Trip with Photos and Videos
Before dawn
Sunrise on the Annapurnas
The drive starts around 4am. From the Sarangkot ridge the sun catches Annapurna I (8,091m), Annapurna South, Machhapuchhre and the rest of the range in sequence — a 200km horizon of snow turning pink, then gold. Back down for breakfast at the lake before most of the lakeside is awake.
- 1 From Pokhara: Sarangkot Sunrise Himalayas Tour
- 2 Pokhara: Sarangkot Sunrise with Half or Full-Day City Tour
- 3 The Best of Pokhara: Full-Day Private Tour with Sarangkot Sunrise
Into the foothills
The Ghorepani Poon Hill trek
Pokhara’s gateway trek. Three to five days through rhododendron forests and Gurung villages, climbing to the 3,210m Poon Hill viewpoint for an open sweep of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges. The trail every first-time Nepal trekker walks before the longer routes.
- 1 Poon hill Trek 3 days
- 2 Pokhara: 4-Day Ghorepani, Poonhill & Ghandruk Mountain Trek
- 3 Ghorepani – Poon Hill Trek 3N-4D
The Pokhara icon
Start with the one that everyone books.
The single highest-reviewed experience on the site. The Pokhara ride travellers come back talking about.
The classics
Pokhara’s Most Popular Experiences
Sarangkot dawns, paragliding flights, treks into the Annapurnas, the world’s steepest zipline. The experiences most travellers come to Pokhara to do.
By region
From the lake to the high Himalaya.
Phewa for the boats. Sarangkot for the sunrise. Dhampus for the easy first hike. Ghorepani for the 3,210m viewpoint. Annapurna Base Camp for the long one. Each tier of the foothills has its own day.
By experience
Or pick how you want to spend the day.
Paragliding if you want the lift. Trekking if you want the trail. Tibetan settlements, sunrise hills, cooking classes, ziplines, rafting on the Seti — and the rest.
Find your altitude
Pick how high you want to go.
Pokhara reads as an elevation story. Phewa Lake at 800m, the Sarangkot ridge at 1,600m, the Poon Hill pass at 3,210m, Annapurna Base Camp inside the amphitheatre at 4,130m. Each tier is a different kind of day.
If you came to walk
Into the Annapurnas.
Pokhara is where every Annapurna trek starts and ends. Poon Hill for a 3-to-5-day taste, Mardi Himal for a quieter ridge, Annapurna Base Camp for the long pilgrimage to 4,130m. Three we’d send a first-timer on tomorrow.
Before the lakeside wakes
The 5am ridge.
Pokhara’s signature wake-up. The road up to Sarangkot, the alpenglow on Annapurna I and Machhapuchhre, then back down for breakfast at the lake. Three ways to catch the dawn we’d book ourselves.
If you came for the adrenaline
The Pokhara thrill rides.
The world’s steepest commercial zipline, a 70m gorge bungee at HighGround, white water down the Seti, paragliding off Sarangkot. The rides Pokhara is known for. Three to put in the diary.
Slower days
Tibetan tea, white stupas, dal bhat.
The refugee-built monasteries on the lake’s quieter side, the white Peace Pagoda on Anadu Hill, a Nepalese cooking class above Phewa. The half-days for when the trail can wait.
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