Lovely mountain village near Pokhara, Nepal

Last Updated on October 25, 2024 by Ellen

All of our Earth Vagabonding is terrific– though sometimes, there are standouts. This is one of those times for me. This post is about our adventure in a lovely mountain village near Pokhara, Nepal, with the perfect – and I mean perfect – view of the Himalayan Annapurna Range.

Lovely mountain village near Pokhara

We had stayed in pleasant Pokhara for more than a week. Some unusual rainy and cloudy weather in March prevented us from seeing the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas – normally visible from town. So we decided to head closer and hoped for clear skies.

We lucked out! Two of our five mornings in this mountain village near Pokhara were clear. Watching the sun rise on the Himalayas is breathtaking. I recommend it.

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Even when the Himalayas were shrouded, we still had stunning views of the mountains all around us, and we thoroughly enjoyed some hikes on the beautiful land to other villages.

Mone’s Mountain View Hotel & Restaurant in Hyangjakot

We loved our stay at Mone’s Mountain View Hotel in the tiny village of Hyangjakot. This is a traditional mountain village. Fantastic experience! We booked it for the views, but there is so much more this place offered us. Mone’s is on family land of Krishna and Santa.

Amazing views!

The views are second to none for a stationary stay. We did not hike to the range on this trip. I didn’t have the right hiking shoes, and we didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars for permits and packages when the weather was unusually questionable.

Mone’s has fantastic views from all of the rooms, and from the rooftop. There’s even an hammock on the roof to read or nap, or watch village life all around you.

Rooms

Mone’s has comfortable, modern rooms in a peaceful, traditional village. Rooms and suites spotless bathrooms, with solar hot water, and good WiFi. Our room had a living room area and a balcony. Everything is new. There was even satellite TV, but we never used it.

We paid $26 a night. See the room pictures on booking.com. There are lower and higher priced rooms, too.

A delicious breakfast was included in our deal. Different offerings included omelettes, pancakes, fruit and yogurt, toast with butter, milk tea. We loved having breakfast on the rooftop.

Day hikes

Krishna is a licensed hiking guide in Nepal. He has hiked all over the Himalayan range and has decades of experience. He can lead you on the Annapurna Circuit, or specialize any hike you want — including simple day hikes from village to village. That’s what we opted to do.

These hikes are easy. Up and down stone pathways, along rice terraces, through forested areas. If you are older but in decent shape, you can do them.

One great thing about hiring Kirshna for our day hikes: he has amazing stories about the region where he has lived all of his life, from trees he planted as a kid to stories of local heroes during tragedies like landslides.

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Or you can opt to go on even easier hikes. One day we saw older retirees hiking short distances on the main mountain road with hiking sticks. These retirees were likely brought up the mountain by private jeep from Pokhara, whereas we took local buses.

Speaking of buses, here is a better look at the journey by bus from Hyangjakot and other villages to the main highway to Pokhara. If this type of bus riding isn’t for you, you can easily hire a jeep or taxi to take you.

Unofficial American ambassadors

Everyone in the village was curious about us and friendly – especially the children. One afternoon we ‘hired’ Krishna’s nephew to guide us on a short hike through his village Hyangjakot, and into other villages.

Our young guide was a bit nervous, so we gave the OK for him to take two of his friends. All three young boys practiced their (good) English with us, and led us strange foreigners to the places they knew like the backs of their hands.

Dining

On our day hikes, we stopped for lunches or snacks somewhere in other villages, in places Krishna recommended. There are no other restaurants in Hyangjakot (or for miles around by foot), but that was no issue because his wife Santa is a great cook!

Everything was delicious in our dinners. Many of the veggies come from their garden! Dahl, roasted masala veggies, potatoes, rice, Nepali noodles, green salad, carrots, radishes, cucumbers, papadas, pickled veggies, pork and fish (for Theo). One time we bought fish from the river at the bottom of the mountain and Santa prepared that for dinner for Theo. Dinner averaged 500 rupees for the veggie plates ($3.80).

Along with those tasty breakfasts, we ate well and healthily during our stay!

Return visit likely

Interestingly enough, I’m reading The Climate Book, which talks about unusual weather patterns increasing on Earth. Hopefully, skies clear out soon for all of the tourists who come to Pokhara and the surrounding region for views, hikes, and ultralight or helicopter flights.

Monsoon season is June into September. October through May is generally clear, though December through February is colder than most tourists prefer.

We have already discussed coming back another year – and staying longer than our one month visit to Nepal. Our next visit will definitely include another trip to Hyangjakot and Mone’s place, where Krishna and Santa are as beautiful as the views.

Thanks for reading, “Lovely mountain village near Pokhara, Nepal.”