Pokhara, Nepal
Pokhara is one of my favorite places to visit. The city is very different from Kathmandu, it's much more laid back, not nearly the amount of traffic and you can walk down the street without someone running into you. I'm sure there are places in Kathmandu that are not like that, but certainly Thamel where most foreigners spend their time is. Pokhara is approx. 200km west of Kathmandu, which equates to about an 8-hour bus trip (athought they will tell you 6 hours) or a 30-minute flight. Last time I checked it was about $7 USD (900 NPR) for the bus or $126 USD for the domestic flight.
Pokhara is Nepal's second largest city, although most tourists only see a small fraction of it. I have had the pleasure of several adhoc city tours by Mr. Happy and Salik running around to find all kinds of crazy stuff I was looking for. I highly recommend having a local show you the non-tourist areas of the city or going for a long walk. I would find something I might be interested in on Google Maps then just walk there instead of taking a cab and usually eating lunch at a random local place on the way. I'll keep plugging Happy Treks shamelessly for any tours for everything from a local tour around the city or visiting villages to trekking anywhere in Nepal. I do not receive anything for hyping them, I just do it because of my personal experience (I do not take anything from anyone, not even a coke).
Machhapuchchhre
(AKA. Fishtail)
Annapurna II (Zoomed in, you're not this close)
World Peace Pagoda
Along the Lakeside path
I guess this is the first place to start with besides the new airport I have not been to yet. It opened a couple weeks after our last trip. One of the first flights didn't go too well... but it's been good since that accident. The airport is a cheap $5 USD taxi ride away from Lakeside.
Phewa Lake is the lake's proper name, but it's well known as just "the lake". It's a major attraction to not only foreigners, but also Nepalese. I met quite a few Nepalese from Kathmandu that come to Pokhara on vacation to get away from the busy city and relax at the lake. Most tourists visiting Pokhara stay right around Lakeside (or local name of Baidam). There's a great pathway that leads along the eastern shore with shops and restaurants right along the path. It's a great stroll with beautiful views of both the lake and the Annapurna range when it's clear. Taal Barahi Temple which is dedicated to Ajima or Shakti is on a small island in the lake which you can take a paddle boat over to visit (there are no motorized boats allowed in the lake). My favorite activity on the lake is take a paddle boat over to the western shore and hike up to the World Peace Pagoda (Shanti Stupa). If it's a clear day this is a great place to see both the Annapurna peaks and the Dhaulagiri range. Last year (2022) it cost 500NPR for them to row you across the lake to the start of the steep trail. I do recommend this just to get your legs a bit of exercise after most of us have been sitting in planes for so long. Your legs will need a warmup if you're going trekking anyway. If you're not up for a bunch of steps yet, just stroll along the path.
Lakeside (aka. Baidam)
This is the major tourist area with lots of hotels, restaurants, cafes and shops. It's obviously named Lakeside because it is on the eastern shore of Phewa Lake. I always stay at Hotel White Pearl, they have nice size rooms, there is always hot water for a shower and the breakfast is good. Most important is their staff, they have been extremely accommodating even when our trek went sideways and we needed a room back in Pokhara last minute, but that's a story for later....
I'll hit on a couple of my favorite restaurants. There is just about every type of food available, just keep in mind we're mid-range travelers so I can't speak for the street food or the high-end fine dining.
Indian - Kafle Naan House. It's a small little place run by a husband and wife, but really good dishes and fresh naan made right there in a clay oven (the propper way of making naan). The menu is small, but they had everything I need for a good little lunch. It's on the corner of Lakeside Marg and Mansarovar Path.
Italian (I mean Pizza, btw.) - Roadhouse Cafe. Excelent wood fired pizzas, great for when you get back from trekking and don't want Dal Baht for dinner. This Roadhouse Cafe is better than the one in Kathmandu. I would have thought they'd be the same, but this one is much better. It's located on Lakeside Marg just south of Phewa Marga on the west side of the road.
Western Breakfast - White Rabbit. The breakfasts at the hotels are good, but usually don't have the western style food. This is a good place to get a egg with toast, arguably the best coffee around and fresh juices overlooking the lake. It's on Lakeside Marg just south of 15th Street on the west side.
All kinds of food - Dunga Restro and Pub. Burgers, Chinese, Pizza, Indian, Seafood, etc. I would stick with the grilled chicken, seafood, burgers and maybe the chinese food. Indian and pizza are covered above, but the other dishes here are good. They even have cheesecake for desert. I'm not a chinese food connoisseur, but there are many, many choices around Lakeside.
Activities
There are soooo many things to do around Pokhara. Here's just a couple of them.
Trekking - I have a whole section on trekking in Nepal, check it out here and under destinations. We've done about 6 treks so far and have another one coming up in 4 months. Annapurna Base Camp is definitely my favorite so far.
Bungee Jumping - You can jump from a 80m tower with Bungee Pokhara, or a suspension bridge that is about 45 minutes out of town.
Zipline - One of the fastest, steepest and longest ziplines around. It's called the Zipflyer and can be booked with HighGround Adventures along with the SkyScreamer which is a giant swing that extends over a huge cliff. We really enjoyed the Zipflyer, it was very professionally run, and I didn't find anything worn or loose (I inspect everything).
Paragliding - Beautiful views of Pokhara, Annapurna and if you're lucky Dhalgiri. Where else can you go and see two 8000m peaks at the same time... All the companies I'm aware of launch from Sarankot which is a hill just north of Lakeside. It'll take about 30 minutes to drive up to the top. A 30 minute flight will cost you around $75 USD and there are several operators such as Blue Sky Paragliding and Sunrise Paragliding Company which are two top rated companies.
White Water Rafting and Kayaking - There are two rivers around Pokhara fed from the Himalaya glaciers, the Narayani which is fed from eastern Dahulgiri and western Annapurna, and the Seti which is fed from the middle of the Annapurna's and Machhapurchhare. There are companies all over Pokhara advertising these trips, just walk down Lakeside Marg...
Other activities - I love to go running down Lakeside Marg north though Happy Village to the Paraglide landing pad at the north of the lake. You can also rent a paddleboat on Phewa Lake and paddle around yourself, lots of hikes, oh yah, I really shouldn't forget the Mountain Museum...
International Mountain Museum - This is a great place to see nice photographs (much better than mine) of all the mountains along with the history and the equipment that was first used to climb them. We're a bunch of wimps if you see what the original expeditions used. It'll cost you 500 NPR to get in, but well worth it.
Pumdikot View Tower - This is a three teir statue of Shiva, the largest statue of Shiva in Nepal. The total structure is 33 meters tall including the base. It was still under construction when we were there but is now complete. It's a great place to go on a clear day to see all the mountains but be prepared with lots of water if you choose to hike there. It takes about 30+ minutes by car or bike from Lakeside and the road there was still rough gravel in 2022.