The hills and back - Pokhara, Muktinath and Kathmandu

 

After another drive through the highways in the hills, we got to Pokhara, quite early. There are multiple places to see in and around the small town along with paragliding options, but we had a couple of days only so limited our trip to the popular sightseeing spots. Phewa lake is the main attraction here with boats to the Tal Barahi temple in between the lake and to the surrounding areas.. The peace pagoda is a great spot for the sunset, while Sarangkot is the best place for sunrise. There are other temples and Buddhist monasteries and a few caves as well. One of the caves was named bat cave but quite devoid of any bats or batman. There is a temple built underground which was worth a visit and the area surrounding the lake has quite a few shopping areas for the evenings.

One of days was spent in traveling to the Muktinath temple. A high altitude Himalayan preserve, the landscape is similar to Ladakh and a major hotspot for trekkers. The day trip included a tiny flight to Jomsom, a road trip on a 4x4, a short pony ride and then a climb got us to the temple. There are 108 streams coming through the cow's head shaped pipes, which are considered holy to bathe in, but even in peak summer the water is freezing while the sun could still give you a sunburn. A quick stop at a small hotel on the way for some fries made from the local potatoes and Tibetan bread was a delight for the palate . As we got back by the jeep, it started to rain in the desert. Evening cleared up for me to shoot a few stars as we left early next day back to Pokhara.

The way back to Kathmandu had a quick stop at the Mankamana temple, situated on top of a hill. As I read through the prices, the board listed out a price for goats as well. I had a good laugh until I realized that it was common practice to sacrifice chickens and goats at the temple, which also explained why the two way and one way rate for the goat was the same. The cable car trip is a long one and very scenic but the temple itself was very crowded. Nearby are a few resorts on the river banks for rafting which we gave a miss.

The last couple of days in Kathmandu were spent going around the Kathmandu square, the palace, a Buddhist temple atop a hill and a couple of Hindu temples.A quick stop at the Pashupatinath temple before we headed back to the airport in the morning closed the trip. The return flight being Nepal airlines was comfortable and on time.