A Light Stroll That Turned Into a 5-Hour Mountain Hike: From Pokhara to Sarangkot (Nepal)

 Around 2:30, after pondering where to go for a walk, I decided to explore an area over Sedi (a neighborhood where I have been staying since the end of March 2026). It was too late for a serious adventure, and I wanted only to spend some time with nature, observing plants and trees, maybe some cool birds... On my way, a local man started asking questions, including where I was heading, and I repeated: "*I know, it is too late for going to Sarangkot, better to start in the morning*." Sarangkot is a village at the top of a mountain over Sedi and the entire Pokhara City. It's known to have a stunning vista of snow-covered peaks of the Himalayas, standing together like actors on the stage after a play, receiving applause. And as everyone says, these rocky actors do deserve that recognition - each glorious and resplendent in their snowy, heavenly beauty. However, to reach them on foot, as I knew from Google, you need something between 2 and 3 hours, and, secondly, those celebrities - continuing the silly analogy, lol - normally disappear behind the curtain of clouds at noon or so... Moreover, it often starts raining around 4 p.m... Thus, 2:30 was obviously too late for anything except for visiting the nearest shrubs or stuff... But I thought: nobody makes me walk all the way to Sarangkot viewpoint, I can just have a stroll up the slope, nothing serious... The pathway, crossing the woody slope, was very steep but equipped with stairs made of rocks, so the ascent was tiring but not difficult. The sweat quickly paid off with a beautiful view through the gap between trees:  When the forest came to an end,  the panorama became even more breathtaking:  And even slightly dizzying.  The forest then gave way to a steep meadow with farm constructions, that was the very bottom of Sarangkot village:  I was celebrating the victory - I needed only 45 minutes of intense hiking to reach the village. "*Is that all?*" I thought. "*And where are the promised 2–3 hours of walking?*"  I kept walking up the mountain, photographing views opening up behind me.  This is Phewa Lake and semi-rural Sedi, where I am staying.  And this is a lowland to the west of the lake.  The village turned out to be a quite developed touristy area, with decent houses (maybe many owned by outsiders from Pokhara?) and with locals living a simple life, carrying water in giant bottles on their shoulders and herding goats...  Locals... Of course, a big camera was an att […]