The Story of the Valley
History of Pokhara
From an ancient trans-Himalayan trade route to Nepal's leading tourism city — the story of how Pokhara and its old bazaar, Chipledhunga, came to be.
01 · Ancient & Early Settlement
A valley shaped by trade and geography
Long before it became a tourist destination, the Pokhara Valley was a resting point along ancient trans-Himalayan trade routes connecting the Tibetan plateau with the plains of India. Traders carried salt, wool, and herbs from the north and exchanged them for grain and manufactured goods from the south, passing through the valley's lake-dotted terrain on their way over the mountain passes.
02 · The Kaski Kingdom
Part of the Chaubisi Rajya (24 princely states)
Before the unification of Nepal, the Pokhara region fell within the Kingdom of Kaski, one of the Chaubisi Rajya — a confederation of two dozen small hill principalities that ruled western Nepal. Kaski's rulers, along with neighboring kingdoms, were eventually brought under a single Nepali state during the Gorkha expansion led by Prithvi Narayan Shah in the 18th century.
03 · Old Bazaar Era
Chipledhunga and the rise of the trading town
As Pokhara grew into a proper settlement, its commercial life concentrated along what is now known as Chipledhunga — a narrow street in the old bazaar that became the town's marketplace. Newars from the Kathmandu Valley, Gurung and Magar communities from the surrounding hills, and Tibetan traders all contributed to Chipledhunga's role as a meeting point of cultures and commerce.
04 · 20th Century
Opening up to the outside world
For much of its history, Pokhara remained relatively isolated, reachable only by foot trails through the hills. That changed in the mid-20th century with the construction of an airstrip and later the Prithvi Highway connecting Pokhara to Kathmandu, which opened the valley to wider trade, migration, and — eventually — international visitors.
05 · The Tourism Boom
From trading post to trekking capital
From the 1960s and 1970s onward, Pokhara's dramatic setting — a lake at the foot of the Annapurna range — began drawing mountaineers, trekkers, and backpackers. Lakeside (Baidam), on the shores of Phewa Lake, grew into a hub of guesthouses, cafés, and trekking agencies, while the old town around Chipledhunga remained the city's traditional commercial core.
06 · Present Day
A dual identity: old town and lakeside
Today Pokhara is Nepal's second-largest city and the country's premier adventure tourism destination, and it holds the status of a metropolitan city within Kaski District, Gandaki Province. It balances two identities: the modern, tourist-oriented Lakeside district, and the historic old bazaar around Chipledhunga, where daily Pokhara life carries on much as it always has.
A crossroads of peoples
Pokhara's history is inseparable from the many communities that settled its valley: Gurung and Magar communities from the surrounding hills, Newar traders from the Kathmandu Valley, Brahmin and Chhetri families, and Tibetan refugee settlements that arrived from the mid-20th century onward. This mix is still visible today in the city's temples, monasteries, festivals, and the everyday commerce of streets like Chipledhunga.