Old Pokhara Bazaar
Chipledhunga
The historic street at the heart of old Pokhara — where the city's identity as a trading town was first shaped, and where its everyday commercial life still beats strongest.
What is Chipledhunga?
Chipledhunga is a narrow, densely packed street in Pokhara's old bazaar area, in the heart of the city away from the lakeside tourist strip. It has long served as one of Pokhara's main commercial corridors — a place of small shops, tailoring and textile stores, jewelry shops, hardware stores, and street food stalls that cater to local residents rather than tourists.
A stop on the old trade route
Before roads and airports connected Pokhara to the rest of Nepal, the valley sat along a corridor used by traders moving goods between the Tibetan plateau and the Indian plains. Salt, wool, and herbs came down from the north; grain, cloth, and manufactured goods moved up from the south. Chipledhunga, as part of the old bazaar, grew into a natural stopping point for this exchange, attracting Newar merchant families who built some of the area's oldest shopfronts and homes.
Life in Chipledhunga today
While Lakeside (Baidam) grew into Pokhara's tourism district over the past few decades, Chipledhunga remained the city's working commercial center — where locals shop for clothing, household goods, and festival supplies. Its narrow lanes are busiest in the early evening, filled with the sounds of vendors, motorbikes, and the smell of freshly fried street snacks.
🧵 Textiles & Tailoring
Rows of fabric and tailoring shops, many run by families who have worked the same storefronts for generations.
💍 Jewelry & Gold
Traditional gold and silver jewelry shops, popular for wedding and festival shopping among local families.
🍢 Street Food
Momo, chatpate, and other Nepali street snacks sold from small stalls that fill the street with life every evening.
🏘️ Old Newar Architecture
Older buildings in the surrounding lanes still reflect the brick-and-timber Newar building style of the original bazaar.
Visiting Chipledhunga
Chipledhunga sits in central Pokhara, a short taxi or local bus ride from Lakeside. Visit in the late afternoon to see the market at its liveliest, and pair it with a walk up to the nearby Bindhyabasini Temple for a view over the old town's rooftops.