Sarangkot sits in the mountains above Pokhara, Nepal, overlooking the city and Annapurna Mountain range. You can simply head up the cable car and explore for the day, or you can really do it up. Spend the night in an old stone cottage and wake up early for a spectacular Sarangkot sunrise before the crowds arrive. One night in Sarangkot is plenty, so it’s easy to add this to your Pokhara itinerary. Here’s everything you need to know about how to get up, where to stay, what to do, and exactly what I did so you can copy my trip.
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How to get to Sarangkot from Pokhara
There are three main ways to reach Sarangkot from Pokhara:
- Cable car. It’s $8 USD one way or $12 USD return. It also starts running at 5 AM, so you could skip the hotel and the hiking and head straight up for sunrise.
- Taxi. It costs about 800 NPR one way from Lakeside to Sarangkot. However, there are fewer options at the top to get back down, so you have less haggling leverage. There were always a few taxis hanging around the Galaxy Hotel to take you back down, or your hotel can call one for you.
- Hike. The trail goes through the jungle, passes some villages, and gives you lots of nice lake views along the way.
Sarangot is only about 12 kilometres away from Pokhara Lakeside by car and the drive takes about 20 minutes.
The hike is about 8 kilometres and took us less than 2 hours up from town. (Maybe an hour from the waterfront.) Leave early in the morning so you’re not hiking in the peak sun, or go in the afternoon with enough time to check in before dark. Bring sunscreen, mozzie spray, and/or wear long sleeves and pants. There were a lot of mosquitos in the jungle-y part when we went in October.
Chesney insisted on hiking down the next day, which took him under an hour. I decided to be kind to my legs and enjoy my life, so I took the cable car.
About the hike
The trail is easy enough to follow for the most part, but it helps to have AllTrails open. (We followed this Sarangkot Tower trail.)
There’s one specific section at the beginning where you leave the road for a marked trail and the marker would be easy to miss. It’s uphill pretty much the whole way, with switchbacks. The loose stone steps can be slippery after rain and a bit treacherous, especially on the way down.
The Bhanjyang Village Lodge
If you spend the night up here, you basically get the mountains to yourself for one quiet hour in the morning.
Bhanjyang Village Lodge is incredible value for money. The views are unparalleled, and while the rooms are expensive compared to other local hotels, you’ll likely find it affordable compared to a similar lodge back home. It’s worth the splurge for one night — and includes breakfast! Our room cost 7,200 NPR per night.
The traditional buildings are made of stone and mud, with beautiful old carved doors. We stayed in Kausi East, which was very cozy with our own little private balcony facing the sunrise. The mountains are off to the side rather than straight ahead, so we still went for a little walk in the morning to a better viewpoint for the actual sunrise.
The room above ours, The Attic, has even better views and more space. You can find them on Booking.com, but I recommend booking directly through the Bhanjyang Village Lodge website instead.
Other Sarangkot hotels
I like Bhanjyang Village Lodge because it’s bougie but still not crazy expensive. However, if money is no object, you can really splash out on a stay at the 5-star Sarangkot Mountain Lodge. This one is next level with a spa, yoga studio, mountain-view infinity pool, and open-air rooftop breakfast space. It runs around 35,000 NPR per night.
If you’re really on a budget, you can still spend the night at Sarangkot without breakin’ the bank. Lots of hotels have rooms for under 3,000 NPR per night.
For example, Heaven Door is right next to Bhanjyang Village Lodge overlooking the Annapurna range. Most hotels in the area face out the other direction over the lake. Not a bad view by any means, but just not as spectacular.
These budget-friendly hotels are nice, but you’ll have to go for a little walk for the real magic:
What to do around Sarangkot
Tbh, there isn’t much to do except relax. But that’s what you want on a little relaxing getaway.
The main attraction is the Sarangkot View Tower. It gives you 360-degree views of Pokhara and the mountains. You’ll also pass through a temple with a massive golden Panchamukhi (five-faced) Ganesh statue. It costs 60 NPR to visit the Sarangkot View Tower.
Otherwise, there are lots of strange, random little gimmicky things to do around Sarangkot. Think the classic Instagrammy floral swing and a legit TikTok logo to pose next to. Personally, I think those things are pretty overdone and there were exactly 0 people around the attractions, so I guess I’m not alone lol.
There are a few adrenaline-y activities in Sarangkot as well.
- Zip Flyer: This is the world’s steepest zip line with a 56-degree incline, making it worthy of ticking off your “Most” Bucket List.
- Paragliding: Pokhara is a top place to go paragliding, so even if you don’t do it during your Sarangkot trip, it’s worth doing while you’re in Nepal. There are lots of well-rated operators online, or you can ask your hotel for a recco.
- Sky Cycling: I’d actually lump this is with the gimmicky activities. But it could count as a fun adrenaline activity for kids, as the line isn’t very long or death-defyingly high.
The Joshi Cable Car Restaurant was closed when we were there, probably because of the season. But it also has pretty bad reviews on Google, so I’m not sure it’s worth your time or money anyway. (Those places are always over priced and under quality-ed.)
Our little restaurant at Bhanjyang Village Lodge was so good and had unmatched mountain views, that we ate most of our meals there. Even if you don’t stay there, the restaurant is open to everyone. Go for sunrise or sunset!
Waking up for sunrise
The mountains are always clearer in the morning, so set that pre-dawn alarm. The tour buses started arriving around 5:45, but until then we had the place to ourselves.
The cable car does also start running at 5 AM if you wanted to just skip the hotel and/or hiking bit and just head straight to the top for the views. When the crowds started rolling in we retreated to our balcony for a quieter viewing spot before heading down to the restaurant for breakfast.
Travel essentials for Nepal
📶 eSIM
Stay connected with internet from Pokhara Lakeside to (some) mountaintops.
💸 TravelSpend
Track your budget easily (ft. a colourful doughnut chart with stats).
✈️ Seats.aero
Find and book flights with your points for Aeroplan, Lufthansa, Delta & more.
💳 Wise or Revolut
Compare the best multicurrency cards for spending NPR in Nepal.
Tips for your Sarangkot trip
Here are some little bonus tips for making the most of your visit to Sarangkot:
- Go in October or November. That’s the best time to visit Nepal for crisp mountain views.
- If you stay at Bhanjyang, ask reception about paragliding. I was looking at options online around 10,000 NPR, and the hotel quoted me just 5,000. It’s a nice hotel, so I trust they work with legit operators.
- Book last-minute if you can. That way you don’t end up with a reservation during a rainstorm and no mountain views. We booked a few days ahead, but there are only five rooms at the lodge, so it’s a bit of a gamble if you want to stay at our specific hotel.
- Pack mosquito spray and sunscreen. Even if you don’t do the hike, you’ll be well-prepared for outdoor mountain viewing without getting burnt or eaten alive.
- Bring playing cards or a book. There’s Wi-Fi and cell reception at the top, but this is a good opportunity to unplug and unwind.
Copy my Sarangkot trip
Here’s exactly what we did to visit Sarangkot for one night from Pokhara. It was perfect, so feel free to replicate it if you want. Twins!
- 8 AM: Start walking from town towards the Annapurna Cable Car.
- 9 AM: Stop for a quick coffee and breakfast at the Krazy Gecko for calm lakeside views.
- 10 AM: Start the real hike to Sarangkot — 1 hour ascent.
- 11 AM: Arrive at Bhanyjang Village Lodge and leave bags (Check-in not until 2 PM.)
- Visit the Sarangkot View Tower and 5-faced gold Ganesh statue.
- Wander the little town, peruse shops, take in views of the mountains and lake.
- 1 PM: Stop for a thakali lunch set at Greenview Restaurant.
- 2 PM: Check in to hotel, have a little welcome drink overlooking the mountains. (Hope they’re visible!)
- 5-6 PM: Find a good spot at the restaurant to watch the sun go down.
- 7 PM: Leisurely dinner. (We were still full from late lunch to be fair.)
Get an early night for a good rest, and set those alarms for 5 AM.
- 5 AM: Wake up before the sun, make a coffee.
- 5:30 AM: Walk 2 minutes to the viewpoint next to the Bhanyjang Village Lodge.
- 6 AM: Sunrise! (Time-of-year dependent)
- 7 AM: Free included breakfast at the lodge restaurant.
- 8 AM: One more walk around town and to the Sarangkot View Tower for 360 views with clear morning conditions.
- 10 AM: Head down the mountain (whether on foot or via cable car) and meet for a coffee at The Juicery.
Naomi Lai
Naomi is a Canadian travel editor and writer with 13 years of international travel across Southeast Asia, Europe, South America, New Zealand, and beyond. She covers everything from budget backpacking to luxury travel — always from personal experience.
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