Best Time To Visit Pokhara

December to February is mild, not cold. At 822 metres Pokhara averages about 13°C in January, so days are pleasant and only the early mornings need a jacket.

December is the driest month of the year here. Skies are clear once the morning mist off the lake burns away, prices are low, and Tamu Losar, the Gurung New Year, falls at the end of December.

March to May is warm and lively but hazy. Days climb into the high twenties and the paragliding is at its most reliable, with strong thermals off Sarangkot.

The trade-off is the view. Pre-monsoon dust and farm smoke build through spring, so the mountains are often a faint outline rather than the postcard.

June to September is the monsoon, and this is the wettest town in the Nepal itinerary. July and August each bring more rain than Kathmandu sees in its wettest month.

The lake and hills are green and the prices collapse, but the mountains are behind cloud for weeks and the roads in from Kathmandu are prone to landslides. Fly rather than drive if you come now.

Be at Sarangkot or Australian Camp for sunrise. The Annapurnas are clearest in the first hour of light and cloud usually builds over them by mid-morning, in every month.

Paragliding runs roughly October to April and is at its best from November to March, with morning flights the calmest. It is grounded through the monsoon.

• Annapurna and Machapuchare views: October and November, at sunrise
• Paragliding off Sarangkot: November to March
• Starting the Annapurna or Poon Hill trek: October to November, then March to May
• Warm winter base in Nepal: December to February
• Tamu Losar, the Gurung New Year: late December
• Lowest prices: June to September