Pokhara, Nepal skyline: the 24 most iconic buildings and best views in Pokhara (2024)

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We took the afternoon half day tour. Thupten was a very knowledgeable guide who taught us so much about Tibetan culture, Buddhism and life as a Tibetan in Nepal, along with a monk who answered our questions about his life and beliefs in great depth. We also tried some traditional tea and bread. Recognising and preserving Tibetan culture is of paramount importance, so I’d recommend this tour to everyone.

Look no further for what to spend your time on in Pokhara! It’s hard to express just how much this tour meant to us. We feel so grateful to have been able to learn from Thupten and be part of the unique experiences he puts together for the tour. He is so hospitable, knowledgeable, and a wonderful tour guide. Go on this tour, you will be glad you did!

I did the half day (afternoon) cultural tour and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was insightful and enlightening about Tibetan culture and history and I really enjoyed the visit to the monastery and the opportunity to speak to one of the residing monks, as well as visiting a local family home in the Tibetan village for traditional butter tea and snacks.I would highly recommend doing one of the experiences with Tibetan Encounter on your trip to Pokhara.

Firstly, I would like to thank Thupten for the warm hospitality I received throughout the duration of this tour — his generosity and kind personality shone through! The tour felt very personalised, and I was fortunate to be the only participant due to the timing of the year (low season).Thupten passionately brings the history of his culture to light, serving as a true advocate for his heritage. He is dedicated to reviving and preserving it, detailing histories that have been buried/ skewed by mainstream outlet.I felt privileged to have a taste of Tibetan life, from the daily teachings of Buddha to the richness of food that aligns with the geographical location. It was truly a wonderful experience, and I cannot thank Thupten enough!Please book this tour; you won't regret it!

I was in Pokhara for a few days and was really in the mood for being outdoors and active, however I didn't have the time for a full trekking experience. I ended up doing 2 1-day hikes with Ganga, who was a fantastic tour guide. We did the Sarangkot sunrise walk to Naudanda. The view was really cloudy for sunrise, but we got to see the mountains when we arrived in Naudanda. This hike is more a walk through the villages between Sarangkot and Naudanda, which was quite nice and it has amazing views of the Pokhara valley. The short part in the forest was especially nice! The second hike was through Australian camp to Dhampus. The way up to Australian camp is quite steep, with stairs all the way up through the forrest. With short breaks and going slowly, we managed to reach the top in 1h15 - so it's not too bad! When we got to the top, the view was completely worth it (see photo). We got to see all the Annapurnas, had breakfast and coffee at the camp, enjoyed the sun for a while before heading down to Dhampus for lunch. I didn't try the cultural tours, but I stayed at Thupten's guesthouse and hearing him talking about the Tibetan culture with such passion, I'm sure these tours are great too. I definitely recommend this company and Ganga as a tour guide for hiking. I hope to be able to come back for some "real" trekking in the next few years.

I took the afternoon Tibetan Encounter tour, which featured a monastery visit, a conversation with a monk, and homemade snacks at a Tibetan refugee settlement. I found Thubten to be a passionate and knowledgeable guide with a remarkable life story that added depth to the tour.In particular, Thubten shared many anecdotes and quotes from the Dalai Lama's teachings, which enriched the experience and reflected the spiritual essence of Tibetan culture.Overall, this tour deepened my appreciation for the challenges faced by Tibetans in the diaspora. It left me with a profound admiration for their resilience and a greater understanding of their situation. Highly recommended!

We thoroughly enjoyed the half day tour with our guide, Mr Thupten, appreciating the Tibetan culture and understanding current living challenges in Nepal. Our conversation with Tibetan monk was an enlightening felt experience. Highly recommend this tour for cultural immersion. Best regards, Denys and Jin🇦🇺

Absolutely amazing tour. I had the tour all to myself, and the knowledge Thupten provided for me was so incredible. He shares his personal journey as a Tibetan refugee, and provides unique insight into the history, religion, and everyday life of his people. In order to fully appreciate Pokhara and Buddhism, it is so important to experience this your and learn about the culture from the source.

We booked the Half Day Tour and it was absolutely amazing! Thupten is such a great tour guide who shares his knowledge with such a passion that simply makes you want to hear more and more. We were so grateful for this experience and would definitely recommend one of the many tours they offer :)

We had an incredible day with @tibetanencounter - a truly unique tour that taught us more about Tibet than we’d ever known. Our guide Thubten brought us to Tibetan refugee settlements in Pokhara, and we learned about the situation of Tibetans living in Nepal (like himself, who was born here to parents who had escaped), as well as the very challenging experience of Tibetans in China and around the diaspora. We also visited a Tibetan doctor to get a glimpse into their complex system of pulse checks and ancient herbal medicine, visited a monastery where Tibetan monks live and study since their childhoods and made friends with a young monk, ate delicious Tibetan food (similar to Nepali, with its own twists), were welcomed into a home to drink butter tea and learn more history, and had extensive conversation with Thubten about politics, Buddhism, and more. So grateful for the experience opening up more of our curiosity/empathy for this issue, which feels connected to justice causes/ cultural preservation/ anti-empirialist struggles around the world.

Beautiful experience with Thupten and the Tibetan Culture. 100% recommended if you are interested in Buddhism and Tibetan Culture. I was grateful and very impressed with the information shared. Thank you Thupten

Day Tour of Tibetan Refugee Settlements:This tour was a wonderful experience and one that I would recommend for anyone visiting Pokhara.The tour guide, Thupten, is a knowledgeable and passionate individual who sheds light on the little known Tibetan refugees here in Pokhara, and the rest of Nepal, and the journey that they have had since leaving their country of Tibet after being invaded by China many years ago.Thupten took me through two Tibetan refugee settlements here in Pokhara, as well as a monastery, and I was able to experience some of the authentic Tibetan culture in these areas. We visited a local Tibetan doctor who assessed me and provided traditional Tibetan medicine, I talked to a Buddhist monk in the monastery about the meaning of Tibetan Buddhism, and we tried traditional Tibetan dishes, such as the thenthuk, traditional momos, and Tibetan tea and tsampa porridge.Through this tour, I was able to learn a lot about the history of Tibet and Buddhism and the struggles that modern Tibetan people face, both inside and outside of Tibet.If you are in Pokhara, I highly recommend this day tour with Thupten, it is a day we’ll spent!Upper Mustang Trek:Through The Tibetan Encounter Day Tour Office, I was also able to arrange a custom trek to the Upper Mustang Region with a local guide from the area named, Yonten.Thupten helped to arrange this perfect trek to the Forbidden Kingdom by finding Yonten and then customizing my experience by having us three sit down and coming up with a plan for the trek.With Yonten’s local knowledge, we were able to trek the majority of the trek off the new main road and stick to the actual hiking trails of the area. We did a mix of the main trek, western side, and eastern side of the Upper Mustang area and I feel like we covered the majority of the region, which I am very happy about.Yonten is also an experienced horse rider and we were able to acquire horses during some parts of the trek and ride them ourselves without the need of hiring an extra horse guide.Because Yonten was a local, everyone knew him and we were able mingle with the other local people quite easily. Yonten knew all the local spots and best hotels. We ate the traditional local food and he taught me some words and phrases of the local dialect, which I used to try and communicate with the local people, who were entertained by my feeble attempt to speak their language. Yonten’s English is very good and his ability to speak multiple languages, including Nepali and the local language, as well as Tibetan, was a great asset to this journey and much appreciated.I was able to learn so much about the people and culture of Upper Mustang thanks to Yonten’s local knowledge and we were able stay off the main road and follow the amazing trails that still exist there as well, so for that I am deeply grateful for his guidance and company.I would not hesitate to recommend Yonten as a trekking guide, especially if you want to go to Upper Mustang where a local guide is invaluable. If you are paying the hefty cost of the Restricted Permit for this region then you should consider hiring a local guide like Yonten so that you can get the most out of this amazing trek, you will not regret it.Thank you, Thubten, and staff for arranging this amazing, once in a lifetime, trek for me! And thank you Yonten for your company and guidance on this amazing adventure!I encourage anyone who is visiting the Pokhara area to reach out to The Tibetan Encounter Office and sign up for one of Thubten’s day tours of the Tibetan Settlements, or have them arrange a trek for you in the Annapurna area, especially if you want a custom trek to the Upper Mustang area with local guide Yonten!Oh, and they also arranged a paragliding day for me when I got back from Upper Mustang, they do it all!Thanks again, Thubten and staff, and Yonten, for the amazing experience!

This trip exceeded our expectations, it was enlightening in many ways. I can easily say that it’s one of the best cultural tours I’ve done in my life . Coming from Lebanon, I knew little about the Tibetan culture , their struggles and the meaning of Tibetan buddhism and most importantly what H.H. Dalai Lama represents. Thupten - our tour guide had so much knowledge and information that he shared with us, he’s very passionate about what his origin which we admired . Starting from a visit to a Tibetan refugees camp, then visiting the museum where Thupten explained in details the history of the Tibetan , then having a traditional Tibetan lunch, attending a Buddhist prayers ceremony and talking with a very intelligent buddhist monk and ending it with a visit to a lovely Tibetan’s family ; we learned so much. I would advise everyone to consider this trip when visiting Pokhara, Nepal especially those who are coming from the Middle East as you would see how these people were able to overcome all the obstacles by being peaceful and compassionate and not going to war to fix their problems. Thanks Thupten , we will never forget this amazing experience.

Tibetan's Experience with Thupten is something unique! If you are in Pokhara or planning a trip, this is something that can't be out of your plans!! His knowledge and explanations are very didactic, the places we visit during the experience and the people we meet contributes even more to be culturally rich! Everything is so well prepared and places complement each other at every stop, the day went by so fast, that we wish we could learn new things in this way, every single day in life!Now we feel closer to Tibet's History and also valuable messages from Buddhism too. All of this, thanks to Thupten's amazing experience!

I really recommend this tour! It’s a unique opportunity to learn about the Tibetan culture if you are in Nepal. The guide, Thupten, is a refugee, so that he can explain in details how the Tibetan people live outside their own country and how was life before the Chinese occupation. We could also visit a Tibetan monastery and talk to a very wise and kind monk. It was a great tour!

Lakeside Center, Pokhara 33700, Nepal•https://www.tibetanencounter.com/•+977 980-9373312•Tips and more reviews for The Tibetan Encounter Day Tours P. Ltd