Rest and Relaxation in Pokhara

After the Annapurna Circuit we went to Pokhara for Dave to recover from his cold. Unfortunately, Diane caught it as well and Pokhara became R&R for both of us. We stayed at the Bar Peepal Resort which was a quiet place to recuperate.

Pokhara is more laid back than Kathmandu and the most touristy area (lake front) still has many locals living within it. Our hotel was in an area with more locals than tourists. We enjoyed walking around the town and getting familiar with the neighborhoods.

Recovery

The resort had a roof top pool overlooking Pokhara that made for an easy spot to relax. We had a room at the top of the resort and the sunsets were stunning. We spent a couple days there doing absolutely nothing.

Exploring the Town

One of the places we explored was Pokhara Disneyland! Bet you have never heard of it, and neither had we. It was sketchy and looked a bit dangerous.

And as elsewhere in Nepal, cows are free to do as they please.

We also walked a pedestrian path along Phewa Lake. The boats are very colorful and there were temples along the way.

Driving Tour

We hired a driver to take us to some of the sites further from town. The first was a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva at the top of a hill overlooking Pokhara and Lake Phewa.

Our next stop was the Buddhist Peace Pagoda.

We then went to Gupteshwor Cave and Davis Falls. Davis Falls is a narrow gorge where the river flows into the cave underground. The cave also had temples inside and surrounding it.

We stopped by a long .2 mile suspension bridge over a deep gorge. Although there was a sign that said no motorcycles on the bridge, a few people were using it with their motorbikes. We were glad it was sturdy with just enough room for them to slowly pass us.

We visited the International Mountaineering Museum which covers the ecology, geology, and people of the Himalayas. It also documents the first ascents of the all the Napali peaks over 8000 meters. It turned out to be a very interesting museum.

And finally we went to Tal Barahi Temple. It is on an island in Phewa Lake that is reached by taking a wooden boat. We were a bit concerned about the stability of the boat given the lake is polluted, but we made it without getting wet.

Recovery Progress

It has been a tough cold to beat, but we recovered enough in Pokhara to get moving again. We basically have an extra week now since we left the Annapurna Circuit early. So we decided to use that time to go to a couple places we were originally going to visit in November: Bandipur and Gorkha. This made the most sense since they are closer to Pokhara than Kathmandu, and it would save us some time on the terrible roads. It felt good to be able to start up the trip again even though we were not 100% yet.