Essential and Useful Information
Visa
The Department of Immigration has an office at Pardi, Pokhara under premises of Nepal Tourism Board in south Lakeside where you can extend your visa. You can stay in Nepal on a tourist visa for 150 days per calendar year. All applications must be started on line first, which you then print out and take to the Immigration office to complete the process. If you extend the visa, it must be a minimum of 15 days (US$30.00) and for more than 15 days it cost US$ 2.00 per day. For the visa application, take your passport, printed application, photocopy of your passport with last visa and visa fee in Nepali currency. The office opens Sunday to Friday from 10 am to 2 pm except public holidays.
Normally, you can issue visa either on your arrival at Tribhuwan International Airport Kathmandu or at all major entry point of Nepal, like Kakarvitta, Birgunj, Sunauli (Belahia), Nepalgunj, Mahendranagar etc.
Permits
Every trekker requires 2 permits to trek in Nepal, i.e. Area Conservation Permit like ACAP (Annapurna Conservation Area Project) and TIMS card (Trekker’s Information Management System).
Fee for the permits:
ACAP: Rs.3000 + 1 passport photo
MCAP: Rs.3000 + 1 passport photo
ECAP: Rs.3000+ 1 passport photo
Blue TIMS card: For trekkers accompanied by a guide: US$10 + 1 passport photo
Green TIMS card: For trekkers without guide: US$ 20 + 2 passport photos
Every trekking agency can organize your permits or you can visit the Tourist
Service Center located in Dam side, Pokhara.
Climate of Pokhara
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 in Pokhara remains between 13°c to 32°c in summer and 6°c to 27°c in winter. The Monsoon in Pokhara 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.
Money
There are several banks and many money changers along Lakeside area in Pokhara. Visa cards, Master cards and ATM cards can be cashed at any time. There are several 24-hours ATM card booths along Lakeside and in the city. Credit cards are accepted by most of the service providers, travel and trekking agencies. Withdrawing from ATMs is the easiest option as they have good rates and accept all major cards. 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
Internet
There are some 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 café in and around Lakeside. They also have ISD phone services. You can connect around the world at any time. Most of the hotels, restaurants, bars, and cafés have free Wi-Fi available for their customer.
Mobile Phones
Tourist can easily buy Nepali SIM cards. There are two main companies NCELL and NTC. NTC has better coverage in the mountains. You only need to fill out a form and provide a photocopy of your passport and visa. Balance top-ups for both companies are available everywhere in Nepal from NRs. 50.00 to NRs. 1000.00.
Postal System
The main post office of Pokhara is situated at almost 1.5 km. west from Lakeside. Sending post-cards to home is easy and reliable from Lakeside, as every bookshop at Lakeside sells both post cards and stamps and they have also small post box outside their shop. There are also branches of Sky Net and UPS at Lakeside, from where you can send your important documents.
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 is generated by hydro-power. Majority of the hotels, restaurants, bars, café, etc. are well-equipped with diesel generators, inverter and generate their own electricity.
Medical/Dental
There are almost 22 small and big hospitals and nursing homes in Pokhara, those provides standard dental clinics and pharmacies which offer excellent dental care including emergency treatment that rivals any practice you can find in the West. And there are also small pharmacies throughout Pokhara selling everyday medicines, antibiotics and first aid supplies.
If you need dentist or doctor during your stay in Pokhara, both are available in Lakeside. There are some hospital and clinic in central Lakeside provide western standard care and remain open round-the-clock, providing emergency, outpatient and inpatient services ranging from acute emergencies to primary care for both adult and children.
Drinking Water
Mineral water is available everywhere in and around Pokhara. Many shops, offices and cafes have safe drinking water refill stations, which are the cheapest way to get water in Pokhara. The water is from the same source as in the bottled water. We recommend you to use this facility and help to reduce the plastic waste.
Laundry
Most of the hotels in Lakeside offer in-house laundry services. There are also many small laundry shops all over Lakeside. The charges depend on the quantity and speed of the services. The services are reliable and well organized.
Accommodation
Pokhara offers wide varieties of accommodation facilities suited for almost all types of travelers varying from cheap backers guest house to luxury 5* boutique hotels. The majority of hotels are around the Lakeside area, but for those looking for a little solitude there are also a number of more secluded options in the surrounding hills and towns. There are at least 500 tourist standard hotels with at least 12,000 bed capacities.
Food & Drinks
Pokhara is renowned for its popular varieties of cuisines including western, continental and local food. There are numerous restaurants, cafés, and bars scattered around the main tourist areas of Lakeside and in the main city of Pokhara. The restaurant and café have a wide variety of styles and budgets, so you can find something that suits your interest.
In addition to food, Lakeside have exciting night life with many bar and pubs which remain open till late. Many of these have the views of Phewa Lake where you can enjoy your drinks with live music and Nepali cultural shows.
Pokhara is also famous for its Nepalese cuisine especially for Dal Bhat ‘rice and lintel’. You will also have vegetables and meat curries, pickles, chutneys, pap dam, green salad and curd. The most distinctive characteristic of Nepali cuisine is its spiciness. Chilies are an essential part of nearly every dish and are considered so important that most Nepali people would not enjoy a meal without chilly.
Shopping & Services
Pokhara offers a variety of shops selling everything from traditional Nepalese Pashminas and paper products to the latest trekking and mountaineering gear. Along the whole Lakeside, the streets are full of shops of all types and focus on tourists and a large selection of souvenirs, clothing and jewelries. In addition, there are a plenty of books and DVD shops including a number of mini-markets which stock all the travelers’ essentials, especially items such as confectionary, toiletries, alcohol and snacks.
If you like to make some more serious shopping there are local shopping centers in the center of Pokhara, where you can find supermarkets for fresh fruits, vegetables, traditional Nepali clothes, electronics, and a huge selection of cheap shoes and clothing.
You can also find services of all types in Lakeside. Whether it is a relaxing massage after an arduous trekking adventure, a tattoo to remember your time in Nepal or a yoga session to bring your body and mind in harmony, Pokhara offers a wide selection. If you need to plan your next adventure from Pokhara, there are several trekking and travel agencies to organize all your travel requirements. While choosing the trekking or travel agencies be sure that whether they are the member of Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN) or Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) because they are the only companies recognized by the Government of Nepal for such an operation.