Pokhara is definitely a slice of paradise in Nepal. I visited Davis Falls and its gardens, Gupteshwar Mahadev Cave and Bhindhyabasini Temple . A smooth boat ride on tranquil Lake Phewa surrounded by lush green foothills with Machapucare shaping a towering horizon, nourished the soul and was a fitting end to a tiring day. I would certainly like to see more of Pokhara. For a small city, the airport was amazing with magnificent snow covered Annapurna Massif catching the first rays of sunlight. I visited Pokhara enroute to Jomson and Mukthinath.

Make time to visit 'Bindhya Bhashini' ( Vindhya Bhashini') temple in Pokhara! This is situated in a small hillock, but thanks to the Lift facility, you can reach the temple at ease! In addition to Maa's sannidhi, you have Shivji, Radha, Krishna, Hanuman Ji temples in the premises! You also get to worship a tall Rudraksha Tree! If the sky is clear, you can even get to see the glaciers from the temple top! Thanks to the Mother Nature!

After taking of my shoes, I walked to this temple. Noted several buildings here: golden arches, main temple, etc. Inside the temple, a man asked me to walk toward him. He gave me a small cup with water and instructed me to pour it over an oval object. He chanted a prayer as I was pouring the water. He then put something on my forehead. First time to experience this! There is a statue of Shiva inside as well as a very colorful painting of him outside. Surrounding the temple below are shops selling various crafts and souvenirs.

Perhaps this is the only temple in Nepal where the management has made provisions for a lift/elevator for the convenience of infirm pilgrims. The many steep steps through a narrow road lined with shops selling trinkets lead to the upper terrace of the temple. Almost all the Hindu deities idols are housed in the temple. The tourists, mostly from India, seem to outnumber the local residents in the ratio of nine to one. Happily in Nepal, the concept of giving prasads have been done away with. For some strange reasons, the shoe stand is at a lower level than the toilet resulting in dirtying your legs before entering the temple. Perhaps the temple authorities could shift the toilets to the ground level and place the shoe stand almost at the terrace. A tourist oriented installation. Not recommended.