Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Pokhara Airport

Pokhara Airport is relatively small and acts as a regional airport for central Pokhara in Nepal. It is operated by the government department of ‘Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal’ and was established on July 4, 1958. It is from here that you can get regular connecting flights to such places as the city of Kathmandu and Jomsom. Warning: if you wish to travel to Manang you will have to establish when the exact seasonal connections are available so as not to be disappointed.

Pokhara Airport in Nepal is considered to be one of the busiest domestic airports in Nepal in terms of aircraft movement, with an increase of 64.5% since last year. Authorities also noted an increase in the movement of passengers where a surge of 26.7% was noted. As a result, Pokhara Airport is rated as the second busiest domestic airport after the Biratnagar Airport. In the future Pokhara could become the top domestic airport in the country should CAAN’s plans go through for a revised new airport.

There are three main airlines which are housed at Pokhara Airport. They are: Cosmic Air (which flies to Jomsom and Kathmandu), Royal Nepal and Yeti Airlines (which both fly directly to Kathmandu). Most of the planes here are relatively small but regardless of this accidents can still occur. One such accident did occur on November 6, 1997, when a ‘Necon Air Avro 748 – 100 was arriving back from Kathmandu. Upon landing at the Pokhara Airport its hydraulic system began to fail causing it to run off the runway. The pilot made an attempt to steer the plane back on course but just a couple of meters along the plane hit into a ramp and struck a similar Avro 748. Thankfully there were no fatalities amongst the 4 crew members and 44 passengers on board.

Some interesting facts about Pokhara Airport: The shortest flight available within Nepal is about 43 miles away while the longest flight that can possibly be taken is about 91 miles. It is estimated that approximately 2632 passengers fly out of Pokhara, Nepal, every week which then amounts to over 112 flights per week with an average of 44 passengers on board.

Discover the beauty of Pokhara

Pokhara is situated on the edge of the Pokhara Valley which is home to some of the most spectacular scenery in Nepal. Here the Seti River has dug incredible canyons in the floor of the Seti Gandaki Valley. Most of these canyons are only visible from higher viewpoints but they are stunning to behold. If you wish to see what they look like, getting a little higher off the ground shouldn't be too difficult. The mountains here rise from 1000 m to over 8000 m over the short distance of only 30 kilometers. This astonishing fact makes them one of a kind! The Dhaulagiri, Annapurna and Manaslu ranges can all be seen from Pokhara and make for a stunning backdrop. There is a fantastic waterfall known as David’s Falls where the water from nearby Phewa Lake thunders into a large hole and disappears mysteriously.

Summers in Pokhara are relatively hot and winters are mild. The region is sub-tropical because of the elevation and this means you can expect lots of beautiful green shrubbery all year around.

Pokhara has changed much since the 1960’s. Back then it was a quiet little town which could only be reached by foot. Many considered it to be even more mystical than Kathmandu. The completion of the first road in 1968 soon brought a change to this. Tourism quickly became a major industry and the city grew rapidly. Though Pokhara is considerably bigger than it was only a few years ago, there are still a lot of green spaces which make the place feel peaceful and spacious. Most of the town’s traffic is made up of tourists traveling to the Annapurna Base Camp.

Since most of the city’s growth has occurred in recent years, Pokhara is relatively modern. However, the old center, known as Purano Bazaar, is quite interesting and reminiscent of days gone by as are the mule caravans which arrive regularly from Mustang. There are lots of temples to visit in the region and lots of hiking trails to do. The lakes are generally not very good for swimming though boating is popular. There are a great number of natural attractions in the area which are well worth visiting.

Many tourists enjoy Pokhara as it is not as cramped as Kathmandu, but it does not house as many cultural attractions as Nepal's capital. While it does have some great cultural sights, the focus tends more towards the many natural wonders around the city. Pokhara should definitely not be missed

Pokhara, Nepal

Pokhara valley extends, in the 'Oriental Realm', between the north parallels of 250 7’ and 280 10' and east meridians of 83050' and 84050'. Situated in the mountainous region of the southern Himalayas and trapped between the higher Himalayas in the north and Mahabharat range in the south, it occupies central position in the country. It valley spreads mainly over Kaski district and covers small portions of Tanahun and Syangja district from Pokhara, Tibetan border to the north is 72 kilometers and Indian border to the south is 78 kilometers. Within a small area the elevation ranges nearly from 500 meters to 3,000 meters in the Pokhara valley.

Based on the administrative division on hierarchical order Pokhara lies in Western Development Region, Gandaki Zone and Kaski District. The valley includes Pokhara Sub‑Metropolitan City', Lekhnath Municipality, and some other Village Development Committees. The city is located in the central part of the valley.





The development of Pokhara valley and the origin of Annapurna range including the majestic peak Macchapuchhre is ascribed to Geological faulting in the 'Tertiary Period! (between 65‑25 million years ago from now). The convergence of Indian peninsula with Tibetan plate resulted into upsurge of Himalayas from the Tethys sea. After the upsurge of Annapurna range, due to the action of climatic components, glaciers started eroding mountains. The eroded materials ‑ limestone, gneiss and quartzite ‑were transported downwards depositing larger and coarser debris first and smaller as well as smoother debris later. Therefore the northern region of Pokhara has thicker layer of coarser and larger boulders but this thickness decreases southward and smoothness and size reduction occurs gradually. In this way, the tectonic valley was developed due to the hauling of debris as moraine and subsequent deposition as lake deposit.

Pokhara, now‑a‑days, is linked to the major cities of Nepal by air and road transportation. Aeroplanes of different airlines fly several times a day from Kathmandu to Pokhara and many times a week from other major cities of the country. All the cities of Nepal where motoring has been possible so far, are linked to Pokhara by roads and regular bus services are available.

Pokhara is the only city in Nepal which is famous for the Himalayan Peaks and the Annapurna Himalayan Range. Some of the Famous Mountains that can be seen from Pokhara are Mt. Machhapuchree, Mt. Dhaulagiri, Mt. Annapurna, Mt. Hinchuli etc. it is the only City in Nepal that consist of seven beautiful lakes. Some of the famous lakes are Fewa Lake, Begnas Lake and Rupa Lake. It is the only City in Nepal that has excellent and breath taking caves. There are more then 5 caves within this city. Some of the most popular caves are Mahendra cave, Bat cave, Kali khola cave, Shiva cave etc.

Pokhara is the only City that has several rivers flowing within itself. Some of the major rivers that flow within this beautiful city are Seti, Yamdi, Mardi, Kali Khola, Madi etc. This City must be God's idea of heaven. Pokhara is so rich in Natural vegetation and excellent climatic conditions. It is neither too hot nor too cold. It seems to be a paradise.

Sustainable Travel



The world's a pretty awesome place or you wouldn't be traveling to see it. =) I'm sure you've all lived it - travel is an incredible life-changing experience. The world's given a lot to us, so let's do our part to preserve this crazy-awesome planet. We've put together some tips reducing our impact while traveling with the help of Sustainable Travel International.