For a taste of what Pokhara was like before the rafting agencies and German bakeries set up shop, head to the old town, north of Mahendra Pul. The best way to explore is on foot or by bike.

From the Nepal Telecoms building at Mahendra Pul, head north along Tersapati, passing a munber of small religious shops seffing Hindu and Buddhist paraphernalia.

At the intersection with Nala Mukh, check out the Newari houses with decorative brickwork and carved wooden windows. Continue north on Bhairab Tole to reach the small two-tiered Bhimsen Temple, a two hundred-year-old shrine to the Newari god of trade and commerce, decorated with
erotic carvings. The surrounding square is full of shops selling baskets and ceramics.

About 200m further north is a small hill, topped by the ancient Bindhyal Basini Temple. Founded in the 17th century, the temple is sacred to Durga, the warlike incarnation of Parvati, worshipped here in the form of a saligram (ammonite fossil).