From Kathmandu I flew to Pokhara which at 3,000′ is lower in elevation than Kathmandu. It was early March, warm and sunny with lots of flowers blooming.
Most Westerners come to Pokhara to trek in the Annapurnas, but many Indians come here for a lakeside vacation. It’s a tourist town, not that different in concept to a place like Gatlinburg just outside of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It’s filled with hotels, restaurants, and tourist shops.
My hotel--the Four Seasons
If my hotel had no commonalities other than beds with the American hotel chain of the same name, Wal*Mart had even less in common with its American name source.
Wal*Mart Trekking Store
Most visitors make time for a boat ride on the Phewa Tal, Nepal’s second largest lake, usually as part of a trip to the small Vishnu shrine of Varahi Mandir.
Phewa Tal
Taking the boat to Varahi Mandir
Varahi Mandir
The temple's guardian lion
Temple visitors
Some locals were fishing in the lake.
Fishing in Phewa Tal
But most tourists, like me, are more interested in the mountains.
Machhapuchhre or Fishtail
Tomorrow I start trekking up to this mountain–the primary reason for coming to Nepal.