The Vegan Traveler: Pokhara, Nepal

Our epic trip to Bhutan and Nepal in August 2025 started in Bhutan. It was a three part trip that then took us to Nepal for a month. Part two of the trip had us in Pokhara, Nepal, on our own for two weeks.

We were unsure of where we wanted to spend these two weeks. We considered several options, but in the end we stayed in Pokhara the entire two weeks.

Why Pokhara?

Pokhara is (arguably) Nepal’s second largest city. It is the adventure capital of Nepal and gateway to the Annapurna range. Lakeside in Pokhara has a laid back but touristy vibe, and is a wonderful place for vegan travelers. Mark’s son had visited and thought we’d like it: it has similarities to our home of Panajachel in Guatemala. It has a lake, it has tourism, it has many restaurants, and it has a similar vibe (though Pokhara is much larger and more intense – and Lakeside is just a small part of a large city).

How Did You Get There?

Photo of passengers walking to the Buddha Air prop plane for the flight from Kathmandu to Pokhara.

We heard several people say the they had taken a bus from Kathmandu to Pokhara. Sure, you can do that. It’s cheap (about $35) for a “luxury” bus. It also takes anywhere from six to ten hours depending on road conditions and traffic. More than one person told me it was a terrible trip.

We opted to fly Buddha Air. It was $100 per ticket and the flight is about 30 minutes. Yes, please. Flights can be, um, fluid. They don’t tell you the flight is delayed in advance. Of the three flights I’ve taken from Kathmandu to Pokhara, all of them have been delayed, but not by more than 45 minutes. Pro tip: fly in the morning, especially if you’re there in the monsoon season.

Where Did You Stay?

Lakeside is the tourist area of Pokhara. Lake Phewa is the second largest in Nepal. It’s not all that big – about 4.4 square km (1.7 square miles). It’s considered a semi-natural freshwater lake, formed when a landslide dammed the valley long ago. There’s now a manmade dam where hydroelectric power is generated. Though Phewa is the more common spelling in guidebooks, locals spell the lake’s name Fewa, and that’s what you’ll see on local signs.

Photo of Lakeside Drive in Pokhara showing a cow in the road, shops, and mountains of the Annapurna range in the background.

While we knew we wanted to be in Lakeside, we had no idea where we wanted to stay. I booked a hotel for three nights based on reviews on Expedia so that we could look for another place after exploring the Lakeside area. This was the off season, so we knew we’d have many options.

We booked the Hotel Lake Shore. We weren’t thrilled at first. They didn’t answer my message about booking transportation from the airport, so we took a taxi (not a big deal). When we got to the hotel they didn’t have the king room we booked and they put us in a room with a queen and double bed, saying tomorrow a king room would be available.

The next day we went out and looked around. Since we were staying two weeks, we wanted to keep the nightly rate down. There are about a bazillion places to stay in Lakeside. After seeing some other rooms and the different parts of town, we decided to stay at the Hotel Lake Shore. The main draw was the area (in the south of Lakeside) and the view from our room. From our balcony we could see the lake and, when it was clear enough, the snow-covered mountains of the Annapurna range. We also came to feel like part of the family and the hotel was super accommodating when we brought our own breakfast food into the restaurant.

What Did You Do?

A big part of the appeal of Pokhara was outdoor activities. I wanted to hike. There’s a lake, so I wanted to paddle board. We wanted to eat great vegan food. We did all of those in Pokhara. We also did several other activities, such as a visit to the old market (Purano Bazar) in Pokhara with its Nawari architecture, the Bindhyabasini Temple, a visit to the International Mountain Museum, and a day trip to Benes lake. Below are photos of some of the highlights of our time in Pokhara.

World Peace Pagoda and Shiva Statue

We took a short walk from our hotel to the boats that row you across the lake to the trail up to the World Peace Pagoda.

It’s a steep hike, with many stairs, but it’s mostly shaded. There were few people there when we reached the World Peace Pagoda.

We continued our hike to the Pumdikot Shiva statue. This was harder, as it was in full sun and quite steep. Many more people were there than the World Peace Pagoda. The statue is visible from the lake and has only been open about five years. The statue itself is 15.5 meters tall, and with the base and pedestal, the entire structure is 33 meters tall.

We stopped for a juice and decided to take a taxi back down to our hotel.

Our boat to cross the lake
Tal Barahi temple on Lake Phewa
The trail from the lake to the World Peace Pagoda
World Peace Pagoda
Near the giant Shiva statue – Pumdikot
The Pumdikot Shiva statue.

Australia Camp Hike

On our first morning we wandered through the many shops, and in one the proprietor told us we should do the easy Australia Camp hike.

We booked transportation and a guide with an online tour company. I’m glad we didn’t try to take the bus, but our guide was young and didn’t understand physical limitations (like my knees). The hike up was many stairs, but not difficult. The Australia Camp itself was socked in with clouds, giving it a surreal and somewhat mystical feel.

The way down was beautiful, but difficult for me on slippery stone stairs. The town of Dhampus, with it’s traditional homes, and the views of rice fields on the way down were a highlight.

On the way from Kande to Australian Camp
Australian Camp in the clouds. We had it to ourselves.
Traditional home in Dhampus
Traditional home in Dhampus
At the lower end of Dhampus
Rice fields on the hike down from Dhampus

Paddleboarding

We walked along the lake in Lakeshore several times. When I decided to go out on a SUP board, I knew who I wanted to rent from.

Most of the board rental places give you a kayak paddle. Almost everyone I saw sat on the board and paddled kayak-style. One place had real SUP paddles, so that’s where I went. They were great and gave me a discount on a two-hour rental.

I paddled around most of the lake. It was lovely.

View across Lake Phewa from my SUP board
Rice fields and fishermen at the north end of Lake Phewa
Happy to be out on the water
Monastery at the north end of the lake.
The company I rented my SUP board from. They were great.

Devi’s Falls

Devi’s Falls is a powerful waterfall below Phewa lake that disappears into a deep natural gorge. The name comes from a story of a woman, Mrs. Davis, who died when she was swept away by the falls.

We walked to Devi’s falls from our hotel, passing the dam at the south end of Phewa lake as we walked.

While there were many visitors a the falls that day, we were the only visitors who weren’t Nepali or Indian.

Cable Car Ride

The ride up the Annapurna Cable Car to Sarangkot wasn’t something we planned to do. It’s popular for sunrise watching, but not at this time of year (most mornings the clouds covered the mountains).

We booked the ride through our hotel. This included pick-up at our hotel, which was nice. There weren’t many people going up in the cars, but there were lots of people at the top. It happened to be the main day of Teej, and many visitors were dressed in their red saris, visiting the temple for Teej.

The ride was spectacular.

At the bottom we found that we’d just missed the shuttle back to the hotel and there wouldn’t be another for two hours. We opted for a city bus, which was easy and comfortable.

The cable car is an Austrian design but built by a Nepali company
The view from the top of Sarangkot
Panchamukhi Ganesha statue at the top of Sarangkot
Women dressed for Teej at the Sarangkot Shiva temple
On our city bus ride back to Lakeside

Shopping

Pokhara is a shopper’s paradise. From the outdoor outfitter shops to women’s development shops to handicrafts, I found the shopping to be as good as what we found in Thamel, the main tourist area of Katmandu.

I love the image of green Tara, and we found a wonderful shop with Tara statues unlike anywhere else. We also succumbed to the Green Tara gong, which was big enough we had to go buy a new suitcase to carry it home.

If you need outdoor gear, this is a great place. Though many items are knock-offs (sure, that’s a Patagonia shirt or a North Face jacket!) there are great deals to be found.

Food

Oh, my. Where to begin. So many great places to eat with amazing vegan options.

There’s only one fully vegan restaurant in Lakeside, Lumuma. We ate there twice and it was fantastic. Our favorite place, though, was Little Windows – it’s vegetarian with tons of vegan options. Their vegan protein salad and vegan pizza brought me back three times in our two week stay.

Honorable mention goes to both the Juicery and Hang Over Takaway. The Juicery has a location close to our hotel and we ate there a couple times. Hang Over Takeaway is on my list just for their blueberry ice cream. They have three vegan flavors, but the blueberry won every time.

Note that there is a restaurant in Lakeside called Vegan Way. In spite of the name, the restaurant is not vegan, the service wasn’t great, and we had one of the weirdest sandwiches ever there. I can’t recommend it based on our experience.