Pokhara Entry Requirements

Most travelers reach Pokhara via Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport, then catch a 25-minute domestic hop that hugs the mountains to Pokhara Airport. Immigration happens in Kathmandu: you wait beneath saffron walls while ceiling fans thump overhead, hand over a passport reeking of jet fuel, and feel Himalayan air flood in when the officer slaps down the visa. The short flight gives you a front-row seat, snow-capped Annapurna massif gleaming left, terraced hillsides crumbling beneath the wing, before Pokhara's arrival hall hits you with marigold perfume and the faint jingle of mule bells heading for Jomsom. Pack printed proof of onward travel, a passport valid six months, and one blank page. Phone copies crash when the terminal generator coughs. Pokhara has no visa counter, so Kathmandu seals the deal. Officers will ask where you're sleeping, have the first night's hotel name ready, and they'll flick to the crisp, purple 1,000-rupee visa fee tucked inside your passport.