Around Pokhara

As part of the post trekking relaxation Des decided to have a mooch round Pokhara. A Nepali guide in the Annapurnas had mentioned the International Mountain Museum was worth a look which was handy as it is not advertised or featured in any guidebooks. The museum turned out to be very good and covered aspects of Nepali cultural diversity (which was mind bogglingly complicated to Des), Nepals most famous peaks especially Sagarmartha (Everest) and the other 8000 metre mountains, expeditions, mountaineering equipment, geology and ecology. Being a bit of an anorak, Fowler spent quite a few hours looking round before security ushered him out for loitering. From there it was a modest walk to the Devi Falls - which are pretty good in the monsoon - but a tad disappointing in the winter. From Devi it was an hours walk to the World Peace Pagoda - which offers fine views on the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges, as well as Pokhara itself. The steep walk to the Pagoda reminded Des of the walk up to Chommrong during the Sanctuary Trek - on this stretch Ollie counted several hundred steps to the top and guesstimated there were 2000 to 3000, ouch... To get back to Pokhara is a short boat journey on the lake - which was very pleasant and gave another perspective on the attractive scenery.