Matepani Gumba

Matepani Gumba sits on a small forested hill in the Matepani/Kundahar neighbourhood, about five kilometres east of Mahendrapul in Pokhara's old town. Its formal name is Karma Dubgyu Chokhorling, and it was founded in 1960 by Nyeshang (Manangi) families who had resettled from Manang into the Pokhara valley — one of the institutions that carried Himalayan Buddhist practice down into the city as those communities moved.

The monastery is a working one rather than a monument. Several dozen young monks live and study on site, and the compound holds dormitories, classrooms and offices alongside the main hall. That hall is the reason to come: its walls are covered in bright, densely detailed murals of scenes from the Buddha's life and of protector deities, painted in the Tibetan style, with rows of butter lamps and a large gilded Shakyamuni at the far end. Prayers are held several times a day, morning and late afternoon being the usual times, and visitors who arrive quietly are generally welcome to sit at the back.

The terrace outside looks west across the rooftops of Pokhara to the Annapurnas, and it is almost always empty — Matepani gets a fraction of the traffic of the World Peace Pagoda across the valley. An hour is enough. It is a short taxi ride from Lakeside, and pairs naturally with Bindhyabasini Temple and the old bazaar.