Pokhara: History

Modern History

Before the construction of the Prithvi Highway, getting to Pokhara involved a 10-day pony trek, with numerous deadly river crossings along the way. When the Swiss explorer Toni Hagen visited in 1952, he found ambling buffalo carts and streets lined with brick Newari houses. Hints of this time can still be seen in Old Pokhara, just north of the Mahendrapul bazaar.

Aside from the odd explorer, the first Westerners to reach Pokhara were hippies in the 1970s. With its lakeshore setting, laid-back pace of life and plentiful supply of marijuana, Pokhara made a perfect endpoint for the south Asian overland trail.

From these barefoot beginnings, Pokhara developed rapidly. By the 1980s, the village had transformed into a modern mountain resort, with hundreds of hotels, shops, bars and restaurants. Today, Pokhara is basically Thamel by the water, but wander north around the lakeshore and you can still find the peaceful idyll that first attracted people here in the 1970s.

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