Pokhara

What Mumbai is to India, Pokhara is to Nepal. Even more so because, it's the largest city in Nepal, nine times larger than Kathmandu ! Abounds in natural beauty, is stepping stone to Annapurna trek and  is referred to as 'Tourism Capital of Nepal'. That's because, Annapurna, Dhaulagiri and Manaslu,three of ten highest mountains in the world are within 15 to 35 miles from the city ! The distance between Kathmandu and Pokhara is not much by air, hardly 25 minutes' flight, but it may take off only after 2 hours [!] or even longer !  By road it may take 5 hours onward, depending on the traffic. The road is okay in parts but at places to call it 'Highway' was hard for the tongue to pronounce and for the brain to accept !

The officers' quarters of Manipal Medical college where we were put up ,faced the Annapurna ranges from the front. Actually in Nepali language the last 'A' of Annapurna is silent so it's Annapurn only. [The way English language treats 'Yog' or 'Ramayan' or 'Mahabharat'. Even Karm is now accepted by the Oxford dictionary in its mutilated form 'Karma' !] So early next morning when we got up and had casual visit to the balcony, eyes just popped out. Shouting for my co brother I rushed to the room to grab my camera. Whatever that was in front, didn't have more apt word than 'Nazara' in Urdu ! Early morning nascent rays being reflected from the glassy snow was view to watch ! The words failed and so we gobbled up the nature's gift only with the eyes. 

 The  tallest one[apparently], the picture above, [as it is nearer to Pokhara], is known in Nepali as 'Machchapuchchere' or fish tail.

The next ones in the line[ picture on the Left] were Annapunra I the real tallest in the ranges, but as it was far away looked smaller than Machchapuchchere, Annapurna IV and others, like,Piang Peak, Tilicho , the names are just hard to remember.Annapurna II and III are further away down south. There are around 16 peaks in the range tallest being Annapurna I scaling over 8000 meters.

We were damn lucky on the day one itself as on the successive days they were lost behind the veil of clouds ! May be , yes we were luckier as Sagarmatha [Mt. Everest] too did not play hide and seek with us !

Pokhara is situated on the banks of Phewa lake and has three rivers flowing through it. Seti with its tributaries, upper and lower, while Kal and Bhallam are little bit on the outskirts. Seti really plays hide and seek with Pokhara as more than 3 to 4 kilometers of its flow, runs underground !

At Davi's fall, [ The dispute still goes on about the name. Davi was a swiss couple who drowned in the Seti fall so the name.. that's one and in Nepalese it's known as Devi's fall , naturally after goddess Kali.] it comes with full gusto to disappear in the crack in the rocks to appear again at Gupteshwar Mahadeo about 100 feet below the surface of ground ! Not only at Guptshwar Mahadeo Seti has many tricks up in her sleeves to put you into confusion, but at other placess too it plays games !

Just behind the quarters where Seti meets other two rivers it comes from below the rock that had fallen from the height during the 2015 earthquake making it appear, as if Seti is coming from no where. Kal and Bhallam meet it just after it emerges from the ground below.

The sand of these three rivers varies so much in color that the waters coming from all appear different ! Seti  is also used for generating electricity after making her pass through Seti Gorge. It's an aqua-duct built at a height where 'Lower Seti' gushes hundreds of feet below, making enormous noise !

Phewa lake lying on the southern side of Pokhara is a semi natural lake. There is nothing great about the lake except that it is most frequented lake of Nepal. Like any commercial venture it has hotels and restaurants lined along the banks frequented mostly by hippie-sh whites !  It reminds you of Nainital. But unlike Nainital it has an island in the center which is an abode to Barahi Mandir. Why on earth all the beautiful scenic sites are given to God as if in dowry I don't know,but at every beautiful site in Nepal rather than meeting nature lovers you are practically accosted by Pilgrims who have one point agenda, come what may, bang your head on the threshold of the temple and feel extremely pious ! 

Pokhara really abounds in natural surprises. Practically in the heart of the city, 100 feet, well below the grounds there are caves which house thousands of horse shoe bats. In Nepalese it's known as Chameri Gufa. I had been to Bat caves in Langkawi so was skeptical about the 'Wow' index. It turned out that these caves were more raw and gave experience of the life time. Langkawi caves though great, are extremely tourist friendly, so much so that you walk through them, as if you are loitering through an air conditioned art museum, on well laid out wooden footpaths with railings and guide assisting you with torch light in full glow.  Mostly designed for Americans !

Chameri Gufa being in Nepal, you don't get any of such luxuries. The caves are pitch dark, naturally to suit bats, but there are very few search lights, one per five persons, so mostly you are on your own. The guide does not assist you ! The floors are uneven, rocky and extremely slippery , covered with slimy mud. You climb down through rocky path managing your camera and belongings but mostly yourself ! But once you reach the inner part of caves it's definitely 'Wow' ! Thousands of bats are hanging upside down, oblivious about what's going around!

The exit from the caves was extremely narrow and tortuous. One Nepali lady could not manage and got stuck up in the narrow tunnel like exit. She lost her wits and started howling. The result: Human traffic jam in the narrowest part of the caves ! There was no go, but to turn back. I was just about managing my clumsy 6 feet torso as none was in front of me with light and to manage with mobile torch was difficult in two ways. Light was insufficient and one hand was blocked in holding it. Result I could not gauge one rather deep step so slipped soiling my white shorts ! I then, really became 'Butt' of all the jokes. Even in that cavern there were two extreme experiences of Nepali women ! Seeing me struggling to get down the slippery steps, one Nepali beauty in her twenties, wearing ultra posh jeans, top and make up, helped me to get down offering her hand !While negotiating another climb, one plebeian Nepali woman in her late thirties just pushed me aside and being from the mountains climbed up the remaining path in jiffy,giggling, with her full heart !

Surprises in Nepal don't stop. Atop Ananda hill,  a hill adjacent to Phewa lake, Japanese Monks  have built a Buddhist pagoda, called as Shanti Stupa or Peace Pagoda. The cleanliness, the ambiance, the absence of noise, discipline every thing what Japanese stand for was there, in contrast to other Nepali pilgrims. The view from the hilltop shows you Himalayan ranges along with glimpses of Pokhara city and Phewa lake below.
Pokhara is full of such surprises but for want of space it's extremely difficult to accommodate all of them in one blog. So.... long !