LOCATION
Pokhara lies at the central part of Nepal. 200 Km West from Kathmandu. It is the headquarter of Western Development Region, Gandaki zone and Kaski district. Pokhara and surrounding is the most unique, picturesque and most attractive place in Nepal.
CLIMATE:
Pokhara has tropical mild temperature, neither too cold in winter nor too hot in summer. The Himalayas and surrounding green hills keep it moderate. Winter offers quite a pleasant weather, especially from September to December. The temperature remains between 32in summer and 6 in winter. Monsoon starts from early June and ends in early September. Pokhara receives the heaviest rainfall in Nepal. It produces a variety of sub-tropical floras such as banana trees, orange trees, green leafy vegetables and huge Pipal and Banyan trees.
VISA AND PERMIT:
| SN | Visa Type | Duration | Fee |
| 1 | Multiple Entry | 15 Days | US $ 25 or equivalent convertible currency |
| 2 | Multiple Entry | 30 Days | US $ 40 or equivalent convertible currency |
| 3 | Multiple Entry | 90 Days | US $ 100 or equivalent convertible currency |
BANKS & MONEY CHANGERS
There are several banks and many money changers along lakeside area in Pokhara. Visa cards, Master cards & ATM cards can be cashed at any time. There are several 24-hours ATM card booths along lakeside and city. US dollar and Euro are mostly preferred currencies. Credit cards are accepted by most of the service providers, travel agencies and trekking agencies. Withdrawing from ATMs is the easiest option as they have good rates and accept all major cards. You can also visit the booths of the Money Changers also and they are in many around lakeside. The exchange rates for the day are also quoted in the booths as announced by the National Bank of Nepal. Once you are out of Pokhara, ATMs are scarce, so always take enough cash with you for all your needs plus a little extra in case of emergency.
COMMUNICATION: There are several internet cafes along lakeside. Communicating with your family from Pokhara is almost as easy as in your own country. You can enjoy the facilities of E-mail and Internet at cyber cafe in and around lakeside. They also have ISD phone services. You can connect around the world at any time.
POSTAL SYSTEM: The main post office of Pokhara is situated at almost 1.5 Km west of lakeside. Sending post-cards home is easy and reliable as every bookshop at lakeside sells both post cards and stamps. Stamps can be bought in any bookshop and you can drop your letters in the mail box there. There are also branches of Sky Net and UPS at lakeside, from where you can send your important documents.
MOBILE PHONES:Tourist can easily buy Nepali SIM cards. There are two main companies NCELL and NTC. NCELL is more reliable in town but NTC has better coverage in the mountains. You only need to fill out a form and provide a photocopy of your passport & visa. Recharge cards for both companies are available everywhere in Nepal from NRs. 50.00 to NRs. 1000.00.
ELECTRICITY: Nepal suffers from a shortage of electricity and consequently an organized system of load shedding operates throughout the towns and cities of Nepal. From the dry season until the start of monsoon (December – May) electricity can be off from 12 to 16 hours per day whereas in the monsoon it is on most of the time as much of Nepal’s electricity generated by hydropower. Majority of the hotels, restaurants, bars and etc are well equipped with diesel generators, inverter and generate their own electricity.
TREKKING EQUIPMENTS: Nepal is paradise for trekking. Annapurna trekking is a well established trekking destination in the world. Mountains, rivers and beautiful landscape are with different hamlets of ethnic tribes made Nepal one of the best destination for trekking. For both camping and tea house trekking, trekking equipment is necessary. Hiking boots, camping tents, camping stick, ropes, bags, sleeping bags, down jackets and many other equipments are compulsory for trekking. If you are planning for any types of adventurous activities to some hostile environment and you don’t have some necessary equipments don’t get hassle. These kinds of equipments can be bought or hired from equipment hiring shops based in Lakeside, Pokhara itself. Most of the shops will offer you suitable sized, High quality trekking equipments at reasonable price rates. One can buy or hire trekking equipments. There are many such shops in Lakeside where you can make the deal. Requirements depend upon your destination. You can have the best suggestion either from your traveling or trekking agent or guide or your own experience and physical condition. Other options are:-
Select the items from website
- Add the quantity you want to buy or hire
- Check out and provide your contact information
MEDICAL / DENTAL
If you need dentist or doctor during your stay in Pokhara, both are available in lakeside. The CIWEC hospital and Travel clinic in central lakeside provide western standard care and is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, providing emergency, outpatient and inpatient services ranging from acute emergencies to primary care for both adult and children. In addition to these, they provide travel advice and immunizations. They have a laboratory that can perform routine lab tests as well as tests for travel related illness, like, traveler’s diarrhea, dengue and malaria. The radiology department includes computerized X-ray and Ultra sound. Medical evacuation assistance and repatriation can also be provided as needed by closely liaising with the respective insurance companies. Payments are expected on the day of service and can be made through cash, visa & Master card or through insurance.
Throughout lakeside and Pokhara there are many standard dental clinics and pharmacies which offer excellent dental care including emergency treatment that rivals any practice you can find in the West.
Throughout Pokhara and lakeside, there are small pharmacies selling everyday medicines, antibiotics and first aid supplies. There are almost 22 small and big hospitals and Nursing homes in Pokhara.
LAUNDRY: While some hotels offer in-house laundry services, there are many small laundry shops all over lakeside. The charges depend on the quantity and speed of the services. The services are reliable and well organize