Pokhara

Is Pokhara safe?

Yes, and it is calmer than Kathmandu. Nepal's last national homicide figure is 2.13 per 100,000 (2020, UNODC), the UK Foreign Office calls serious crime low, and its warnings about assaults on women name Kathmandu neighbourhoods, not Pokhara. The risks here are about movement: the road and the flights that bring you in, the paragliders over the lake, the trails that start at the edge of town, and a river that has flooded without warning.

We score Pokhara 62 out of 100, three points above Kathmandu. Its air is usually cleaner and its earthquake exposure no worse, but the city has no crime or road death figures of its own. Our Nepal page covers the wider flood zone and the trekking regions.

Lakeside, scams and theft

Almost every visitor stays in Lakeside, the strip of guesthouses, cafés and gear shops along the east shore of Phewa Lake. It is compact, walkable and relaxed by day. Theft is the usual kind: phones and bags left on café chairs, pickpockets on crowded buses and at the bus park, and the occasional room break-in at cheaper guesthouses. Taxis rarely use meters, so agree the fare first.

The costly scam starts in Lakeside and plays out on the mountain. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary has isolated reports of trekking guides who take clients up too fast and then call a helicopter rescue, taking a cut of the insurer's payment. A trek priced well below the rest usually saves money on staff, insurance or acclimatisation. Book with a registered agency, ask for the daily altitude plan, and refuse to go higher if your head hurts.

The FCDO also warns about drink spiking and methanol in drinks across Nepal. Stick to bottled beer or drinks from bars you trust.

Walking at night

Gallup's 2025 report found 63% of people in Nepal feel safe walking alone at night where they live, a low share for Asia. Lakeside's main road stays lively until about 11pm, but lighting drops off fast in the side lanes, the lakeshore path and the road towards Damside, and stray dogs gather after dark. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary's advice for all of Nepal is to avoid walking alone at night, because assaults and robberies are more likely in poorly lit areas. For anything more than a short stroll, take a taxi or an app ride.

Getting there: the highway and the airport

Most travellers come from Kathmandu by bus, six to eight hours on the Prithvi Highway, a two-lane road that winds through river gorges and is often cut by monsoon landslides. Nepal's road death rate is about 36 per 100,000 by WHO's estimate, about three times Sri Lanka's, and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says bus crashes are common and deadly. Take a daytime tourist bus, which is usually better driven and maintained, and never a night bus.

Flying takes 25 minutes, but Nepal's air safety record is weak. On 15 January 2023, two weeks after Pokhara's new international airport opened, Yeti Airlines flight 691 crashed into the Seti River gorge on its final approach, killing all 72 people on board. The investigation found that a pilot had moved both condition levers to the feather position, cutting thrust. The short hop from Pokhara to Jomsom, the gateway to Mustang, has been deadlier still: Tara Air lost a Twin Otter on that route in 2016 (23 dead) and another in 2022 (22 dead), both after flying into cloud. Every Nepali airline is on the EU Air Safety ListEU Air Safety ListThe European Commission's list of airlines banned or restricted from flying in EU airspace because they do not meet international safety standards.More in the glossary. If you fly, choose morning flights, which see clearer weather, and allow a spare day.

Paragliding, the lake and the trails

Pokhara is one of the world's busiest tandem paragliding sites, with flights from Sarangkot ridge down to the lakeshore. Most go well, but accidents are not rare: in March 2019 a Romanian pilot and a Russian tourist died in separate crashes in a single week. Pick an established company, check the pilot's experience and the reserve parachute, and accept a cancellation when the wind picks up.

On Phewa Lake, ask for a life jacket before you rent a boat, and stay near the shore if you cannot swim or the wind picks up. The short hikes to the World Peace Pagoda and Sarangkot are popular; go in daylight and in company.

For longer treks, Nepal now requires foreign trekkers in national parks and protected areas, which includes the Annapurna region, to use a local guide or porter, and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says not to trek alone.

Floods, earthquakes and air

The Seti River runs through Pokhara in a narrow gorge, and on 5 May 2012 a flash flood from the Annapurna range tore through Kharapani and other settlements north of town. Two days later police counted at least 21 dead and 47 missing, among them three Ukrainian tourists. The monsoon, from June to September, brings floods and landslides most years and closes roads in and out.

Pokhara lies in the same seismic zone as Kathmandu; the 2015 Gorkha earthquake was centred in the next hills to the east. Choose a guesthouse with a solid concrete frame and learn the way out.

Air quality is better than in the Kathmandu Valley for most of the year, though IQAir has no Pokhara figure. In spring, smoke from forest fires often hides the Annapurnas. Tap water is unsafe, and there is no public ambulance service: the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary lists private hospitals in Pokhara that can take emergencies, and serious cases go to Kathmandu.

How to stay safe in Pokhara

• Travel from Kathmandu by daytime tourist bus or a morning flight.
• Do not rent a scooter unless you ride well at home; wear a helmet.
• Ask for a life jacket on Phewa Lake.
• Use a registered trekking agency and a local guide.
• Save 100 (police) and 1144 (tourist police), plus the number of the nearest hospital.

How we scored it

Violent crime (82) and theft and scams (70) are Pokhara's strongest factors. Natural hazards (40) is the weakest, for floods and quake risk, followed by traffic (48) and health and environment (50). Walking at night scores 60, the same as Kathmandu, because the official advice and the Gallup share are the same. Air crashes are not a city factor; they count on the airline pages. Confidence is medium because Pokhara has no published crime, road death or air quality figures.