I came to Nepal and traveled in several areas including Pokhara in April 2008.

Phewa Lake is a beautiful lake at Pokhara; a nice little town where there are lots of hotels/inns, restaurants, gift shops and of course, a paradise for outdoor lovers! But at that time it was very often blacked out due to the lack of electricity. Hope the problem has been resolved. It was kind of romantic to dine under candle lights though.

Though I was traveling alone, I felt very safe walking along the lake admiring the beauty of everything, hanging out in town, dining or shopping: I visited a local family, also went to a children house to offer for volunteering. And I made some local and tourist friends in this trip.

When you come to Pokhara, hiking on the southern Himalaya mountains is a must. I shared a tourist guide with other people to lead us to Annapurna Conservation Area for a 4-day backpacking hike.

For hiking, go to any local travel agency in POKHARA, they can design your hiking route and itinerary for you free of charge according to your hiking time and requirements, and provide you with a guide or/and porter service. You can shop around. You usually pay to your tour guide/porter on daily basis, all inclusive. In ANNAPURNA CONSERVATION AREA, if you are physically strong, you can climb alone without hiring anyone, and it is very safe to travel through the mountains. But it is better to go with others when passing through the dense forest, because my guide told me that it happened that lone walkers were asked for money or robbed in dense woodland.

However, before climbing, you must first hand in two passport photos to apply for a REGISTRATION CARD and an ENTRY FEE. You are required to fill in the "passport number", "gender", "nationality", "age", "hiking range", "planned entry date", "exit date" and "hiking route". etc.

The range of climbing can vary from person to person, and you can choose a trip from three days to a month. If you are in a hurry, you can just watch the sunrise and sunset at Sarangkot near POKHARA, or you can hike along the lake or ride a bicycle or motorcycle to the nearby mountains. There is no need to apply for a card for these activities.

Also, you can go for a hot air balloon flight or paragliding.

In Annapurna Reserve Area, food and lodging services are well located and priced reasonably since they must be officially authorized. So you don’t need to worry about food and lodging. Just pack as lightly as possible, bring sone clothes including warm jacket, water bottles (better with filters to refill from tapped spring water on the route, which I had no problem drinking directly) , hiking poles, a flashlight or headlight for mornings and evenings and a light rain cover or rain jacket. And of course, bring some chocolate to recharge yourself.

On the way up to the mountains , kids you meet would ask you for candles, so you might as well bring a pack of candies and give one to each kid.

When you go to the mountains from Pokhara, you may go to NAYAPUL by taxi or bus. Walk 25 minutes in NAYAPUL to the entrance BIRETHANTI (elevation 1025m) for entry registration. After that, you must register at every police check point for safety and emergency purposes.

POONHILL (3,210m) was the highest point I hiked up to. It’s stunning and breathtaking to see golden rays shining on Mt. Daulagiri (8,167m), the seventh highest summit in the world.

Thanks to the lush forests and sufficient oxygen on the mountains, I didn’t suffer any altitude sickness at all on this trip. Altitude sickness may occur in higher snow-capped areas.

Ah, you don’t need to worry about showering on your hike since all the inns/lodges provide hot water. However, because water in the storage tank is limited, everyone should try to use as less water as possible for others.

In addition, because it is a nature reserve, you must not dump any trash anywhere during your hiking. It is better to carry your trash and throw into the trash can or just carry in and carry out.