Phewa Lake

Phewa Lake
Location	Pokhara
Basin countries	Nepal
Surface area	4.43 km2 (1.7 sq mi)
Average depth	8.6 m (28 ft)
Max. depth	22.8 m (75 ft)
Water volume	0.046 km3 (0.011 cu mi)

Phewa Lake, Phewa Tal or Fewa Lake is a lake of Nepal located in the Pokhara Valley near Pokhara and Sarangkot. It is the second largest lake in Nepal and lying at an altitude of 784 m (2,572 ft) it covers an area of about 4.43 km² (1.7 sq mi) with an average depth of about 8.6 m (28 ft) with maximum water depth is 22.8 m (75 ft) when measured with an echo-sounder on 5 December 2009. Maximum water capacity of the lake is approximately 46,000,000 cubic metres (37,000 acre⋅ft). Annapurna looms in the distance from the lake and the lake is famous for the reflection of Mount Machapuchare on its surface. The holy Varahi mandir is situated on an island in the lake.

Location

Phewa Lake in 1982

The eastern Pokhara Valley receives irrigation water through a canal running from a reservoir by the Seti River in the north of the city. Phewa Lake is also used for commercial fishing. The tourist area is along the north shore of the lake (Lake Side and Dam Side). It is mainly made up of little shops, little hotels, restaurants and bars. The larger hotels can be found on the southern and south-eastern fringes of the Pokhara city, from where the view of the mountains, mainly Machapuchare, or Fishtail Mountain, is seen best. To the east of the valley are few smaller and few bigger lakes, the largest being Begnas Tal and Rupakot Tal. Begnas Tal is also known for its fishery projects.

Phewa Lake was slightly enlarged by damming. It is in danger of silting up because of the inflow during the monsoon. The outflowing water is partially used for hydropower. The dam collapsed in the late 1970s and it was rebuilt by the Chinese. The power plant is located about 100 m (330 ft) below at the bottom of the Phusre Khola gorge.

Phewa Power House

The Phewa Power House is located about 1.5 km (0.93 mi) from the southern part of the Phewa lake. This hydropower is one of the two hydropowers located in the Pokhara valley. The Power House area is naturally very beautiful. Many people comes here for the pure natural beauty.

See also

• Rara Lake
• List of Nepal-related topics
• History of Nepal

External links

• Phewa Lake Environment Awareness and Capacity Building Project
• Pokhara Photo Gallery