How to do the Sarangkot sunrise properly
Everyone drives up in the dark and stands on the same tower. There's a better way to spend this morning, and it costs you one afternoon.
By the Lakeshore team · 5 min read · Updated 5 October 2026
Sarangkot is the view on the front of every Pokhara brochure, a ridge at 1,592 m looking north at Dhaulagiri, the Annapurnas and Machhapuchhre, with Phewa Lake in the valley behind you.
The drive from Lakeside takes twenty-five minutes, so nearly everyone arrives in a van at half past five in the morning, files onto a concrete viewing tower with two hundred others, and leaves an hour later. That works. It's also the least interesting way to spend this particular morning, and the alternative isn't much harder.
Walk up the day before and sleep on the ridge
From Lakeside you can walk to Sarangkot in about two and a half to three hours, up past Bindhyabasini temple on stone staircases and village paths. It's a solid climb of nearly 800 m, and a pleasure in the late afternoon once the heat has gone.
Sleep in one of the lodges on the ridge. Watch the sunset over the lake, which few people stay for and which is arguably the better light of the two. At dawn it's a fifteen-minute walk to the viewpoint, not an hour in a van. Afterwards you walk back down through Kaskikot and the terraced fields, past people heading to school and to work, and you're back in Lakeside for a late breakfast.
If you're driving up anyway
Leave earlier than you're told. In peak season the tower fills before first light, and arriving at 5:15 instead of 5:40 puts you at the railing, not behind three rows of phones.
Then walk away from it. Five minutes east along the ridge there are open terraces with the same view and only a handful of people on them. Any local will point the way, and the walk is where the morning gets good.
Bring a warm layer, even in spring. It's dark, you're standing still, and the ridge catches the wind. People dressed for Pokhara at noon are miserable by 5:30 am.
Paragliding from the same ridge
Sarangkot is also the launch site for Pokhara's tandem paragliding, and Pokhara is one of the best flying sites in the world. The take-off field is a few minutes from the viewpoint.
If you can't decide whether to fly, this is the place to make up your mind. Sit with a tea from about nine in the morning and watch twenty canopies inflate and go. Half an hour of that tells you more than any review will.
Plenty of people combine the two in a half day: sunrise, breakfast, then a flight when the thermals start working around ten. On our Sarangkot hike you can paraglide down for an extra charge. Send us your date and we'll pick you up from your Lakeside hotel.
Walk it with us
Private departures on your dates, guided by the people who wrote this page.
Questions we get asked
How early do I need to leave Lakeside?
Around 4:45 am in winter and 5:00 am in spring and autumn, but we check the sunrise time the night before instead of working to a fixed number.
Can I walk up without a guide?
Yes. The route is easy enough to follow and there are people on it. A guide is worth having if you want the villages and the history as well as the climb.
Is the view worth it in monsoon?
Often not. From June to August the mountains are behind cloud most mornings. The lake and the valley are still beautiful, and after overnight rain there's the odd clear morning. Go with low expectations and you may be pleasantly surprised.
Is there anywhere to eat at the top?
Yes, several tea shops and small lodges open early for exactly this. Hot lemon and an omelette after sunrise is part of the morning.
Still deciding?
Tell us your dates and how much walking you've done, and we'll tell you whether Sarangkot Sunrise is right for you. If it isn't, we'll say so.
Nothing to pay online. We confirm your dates first.
Or call the office +977 61-457830