Bat Cave (Chamero Gufa)

Bat Cave — Chamero Gufa in Nepali — is a limestone cavern on the northern edge of Pokhara, roughly 600 metres from the better-known Mahendra Cave and almost always visited on the same trip. Where Mahendra Cave is a lit, railed show cave, Bat Cave is the rougher of the pair: a single dark chamber around 150 metres long, damp underfoot, and named for the colony of horseshoe and roundleaf bats that hangs from its ceiling in the thousands.

Entry is down a wide stone stairway into the main chamber, where the roof opens out and the bats become audible before they are visible. Guides at the gate hand out a torch with the ticket, and beams are kept low and brief — the colony is easily disturbed. The traditional way out is the "lucky exit", a narrow chimney in the roof that has to be climbed and squeezed through; anyone who would rather not can simply walk back the way they came, which makes the cave workable for families with children.

Allow 20–30 minutes inside. Wear closed shoes with grip, since the rock is wet year-round and slick after rain, and expect to get your hands dirty on the exit. The cave sits close enough to Bindhyabasini Temple and Mahendra Cave that all three make a comfortable half-day out of Lakeside by taxi.