We set the alarm for 04:00 and after a quick shower we were on the bus and driving through the dark and empty streets of Pokhara heading towards the hillside township of Sarangkot. Sarangkot is the recommended place to watch the sunrise over the Himalayas.

The bus trip took about thirty minutes and involved a steeply climbing and narrow road involving many tight ‘s’ bends. Near the top we left the bus and walked the last half kilometre to the 1,592 m pinnacle and waited expectantly for the sun to rise and the misty atmosphere to clear.

The first peak to be cast into sunlight was Dhaulagiri (8,167 m) and next the towering fishtail peak of Machhapuchhre (6,893 m) which is relatively close to Pokhara and this enhances one’s perception of its size.

Sue, our guide Tenzing, Corinne and Jak at Sarangot

The least misty and hence most impressive section of the Himalayan range viewed this morning was Annapurna I (8,091 m) and its extension towards Annapurna II and Manaslu. Although the visibility was certainly not perfect the visual splendour of this magnificent panorama was captivating. The early morning viewing is recommended as the high peaks tend to become cloud covered later in the day.

Our guide Tenzing had brought hot coffee for us which we enjoyed while chatting with an Australian couple from Bendigo who had driven a VW Amarok over the last year from the UK to Nepal via the ‘Stans’.

On our descent we photographed the giant golden statue of Heramba the five headed elephant god and the associated temple wall with its numerous water taps. The five elephant heads are believed to represent the five elements of nature; earth, water, fire, air and the heavens.

Sarangkot and the surrounding hillside villages are special locations from which many of the Gurkha soldiers originate. These famously brave men who have bolstered the forces of British and Indian armies over the years are revered for their tenacity and loyalty in warfare since the late 18th century. On our way down the hill from Sarangkot we encountered groups of young men training to become Gurkhas by running up the steep incline and then stopping to do ‘press-ups’ and hand stands. The attainment of supreme fitness and strength is the baseline requirement for even consideration of becoming a Gurkha. Reaching Gurkha soldier status is regarded as the pinnacle of physical, mental and personal achievement in Nepalese society.

A little further down the hillside we stopped and climbed steps up to the Bindyabasina Mandi Temple which is one of the oldest temples in Pokhara and dedicated to the goddess Bhagvati.

Bindyabasina Mandi Temple complex, Pokhara

We observed a group of young teenage Buddhist boys undergoing a ‘coming of age’ ceremony which includes having heads shaved and gaining instructions on how to lead a future married life. Men typically marry at around age twenty three. The temple is also frequented by devotees who bring up male goats and roosters to be sacrificed in the presence of Bhagvati’s spiritual blessing. We saw the gory chopping block and long blade used to perform these sacrificial offerings.

We returned to our hotel in Pokhara city and had a leisurely breakfast.

After breakfast we drove to the city’s lake that was a prominent spectacle seen during the morning’s hillside travels. We were delighted to note the general cleanliness and absence of litter within the city streets; quite different from Kathmandu.

The 2.5 km long lake called Phewa Tal was formed by damming the city’s river about fifty years ago.

On arrival, our group clambered aboard an old fashioned steel hulled paddle catamaran powered by a local who pedalled with apparent ease to take us about 500 m across the placid waters to a tiny island in the middle of the lake. There were many similar vessels to ours and brightly coloured canoes on the water as we followed the shoreline passing under two magnificent jacarandas in full flower. We passed the ‘boat house’ of the winter palace of the murdered King Berenda.

On the island there was the small Tal Barahi Temple dedicated to the god Varahi. Large carp were being fed pellets by tourists and the action was frenetic.

Tenzing then took us to visit his home ‘suburb’ commonly referred to as the Tibetan Refugee Camp. Following the Chinese invasion of Tibet in March 1959 some 80,000 Tibetans including the Dalai Lama were forced to flee to India, Nepal and Bhutan. Amongst these Tibetans and their families there are now about 500 living in this refugee camp and sadly, they’re denied opportunities of gaining Nepalese nationality or acquiring Nepalese passports.

We spent a good deal of time in the Pashiling Tibetan Photo Gallery where much of this terrible time for Tibetans is recorded in text plus numerous photographs from this time of the genocidal Chinese invasion.

In a more encouraging light we then watched a woman hand weaving a rug depicting a yak. Interestingly, the wool she was using was from New Zealand. The rugs and carpets on sale were of the finest quality and were extraordinarily beautiful and yet comparatively inexpensive.

Woman hand weaving rug, Tibetan refugee Camp, Pokhara

We next visited the Gupteshwor Mahadev Cave which is apparently a world famous tourist destination in the Kaski district of Pokhara.

Entrance to Gupteshwor Mahadev Cave, Pokhara

We descended about 100 m vertically following crowds on concrete steps to iron walkways eventually reaching a Buddhist Temple. Beyond this point the crowd thinned out a good deal and we then followed further steep steps downwards and finally clambered through a small 1.5 m high tunnel to reach the base of the Devis (or Davis) Falls. The atmosphere was hot and humid but the sight of the spectacular waterfall inside a cave made the challenging expedition very much worthwhile.

Waterfall inside Gupteshwor Mahadev Cave, Pokhara

To complete the day’s sightseeing we went to the top of the Devis Falls to see the small stream of water cascading into a narrow fissure and ending in a deep channel below. The exit point for the water is in the base of the cave we’d just visited was explored by British cave divers in the 1980s and their findings published in The Atlas of Great Cave Dives of the world.

In the monsoon season in July the cave floods and a tourist called Mrs. Davis was swimming in these deadly waters and was trapped and drawn into the waterfall. Apparently her body was never found despite desperate searching. The waterfall was subsequently named in her memory.

We returned to our Temple Tree Resort hotel and offered thanks and farewell wishes to Tenzing who had been our guide for Pokhara today.

We had the afternoon from 14:00 as free time to catch up on diaries, washing and some well earned rest following our very early start this morning.

We gathered at 18:00 for drinks by the pool and then had or evening meal. We had a traditional Nepalese meal of spicy chicken served with green vegetables, sauces, yoghurt, salad and rice. A sweet sticky rice dessert was also included.

Tomorrow we leave Pokhara and drive to Chitwan where the National Park is internationally famous for its wildlife.

DAY 7: Wednesday 7th May 2025 POKHARA; NEPAL

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