A golden sunset on placid Pehwa Lake in Pokhara Nepal.

A golden sunset on placid Pehwa Lake in Pokhara Nepal., originally uploaded by The Wandering Hermit.

This beautiful lake 4.4 sq km lake is the pearl in Pokhara's necklace, in the middle sits an island with a temple.. nothing better than spending an afternoon boating and a dekkho of the temple..

The sunsets are stunning too with Annapurna, Dhaulagiri & Machuphucharre (Fish Tail) all 7000- 8,000 mtrs looming in the distant horizon.

Phewa Lake is also used for commercial fishing. The tourist area is along the north shore of the lake (Lake Side and Dam Side). It is mainly made up of little shops, little hotels, restaurants and bars.
On a hill overlooking Phewa Tal from the south is the World Peace Stupa (at 1,113 m) it is built by the same Japanese Organization which built the Shanti Stupa in Leh and a similar one in Rajagiri & Darjeeling.

The relative calm I enjoyed here on my first visit in 1998 was something I will always remember (of course these days it is much more commercial and touristy

This beautiful region is now under siege mainly due to the Maoist trouble and the increasing popularity of the Annapurna Trek Circuit, every year the number of people coming here increases and this puts increasing burden on this fragile ecosystem with which it is struggling to cope.

With its dwindling natural resources you now see many previously pristine trails littered with the detritus of the Huge Trekking Groups and increasing deforestation as more firewood the traditional source of fuel is burned.