Pokhara in the context of "Birgunj"

A secondary city is an urban hub that fills specific regional and local needs related to governance, economics, finance, education, trade, transportation. A secondary city is defined by population, area, function, and economic status, but also by their relationship to neighboring and distant cities and their socio-economic status. A secondary city may emerge from a cluster of smaller cities in a metropolitan region or may be the capital city of a province, state, or second-tier administrative unit within a country. Secondary cities are the fastest-growing urban areas in lower- and middle-income countries, experiencing unplanned growth and development. By 2030, there will be twice as many medium-size cities as there were in 1990, outnumbering the total number of megacities. According to the World Bank, secondary cities make up almost 40% of the world cities population. Many secondary cities in the Global South are expected to undergo massive expansions in the next few decades comparable to city growth in Europe and North America over the past two centuries. These cities are unique environments that generally have limited data and information on infrastructure, land tenure, and planning.

Gandaki Province (Nepali: गण्डकी प्रदेश, romanized: Gaṇḍakī pradēśa [ɡʌɳɖʌki]) Listen), is one of the seven federal provinces established by the current constitution of Nepal which was promulgated on 20 September 2015. Pokhara is the province's capital city. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region in Southwest China to the north, Bagmati Province to the east, Karnali Province to the west, and Lumbini Province and Bihar of India to the south. The total area of the province is 21,504 km - constituting 14.57% of Nepal's total area. According to the latest census, the population of the province was 2,479,745. The newly elected Provincial Assembly adopted Gandaki Province as the permanent name by replacing its initial name Province No. 4 on 27 April 2023. Surendra Raj Pandey is the present chief minister of Gandaki Province.

Cities and towns in Nepal are incorporated under municipality. A municipality in Nepal is a sub-unit of a district. The Government of Nepal has set-out a minimum criteria for municipalities. These criteria include a certain population, infrastructure and revenues. Presently, there are 293 municipalities in Nepal among which 6 are metropolis, 11 are sub-metropolis and 276 are municipal councils. Other than that there are 460 rural municipalities totaling 753 local level government within Nepal.

Kathmandu, the capital, is also the largest city. In terms of area, Pokhara is the largest metropolitan city covering a subtotal of 464.28 km while Lalitpur is the smallest, with an area of 36.12 km. Ghorahi is the largest sub-metropolitan city with an area of 522.21 km where as Dhangadhi is the largest sub-metropolitan city by a population of 204,788. Budhanilkantha with a population of 179,688 is the largest municipality followed by Birendranagar with a population of 154,886. In terms of area, Sitganga is the largest municipality with an area of 610.43 square kilometres (235.69 sq mi).

Dhaulagiri, located in Nepal, is the seventh highest mountain in the world at 8,167 metres (26,795 ft) above sea level, and the highest mountain within the borders of a single country. It was first climbed on 13 May 1960 by a Swiss-Austrian-Nepali expedition.Annapurna I (8,091 m (26,545 ft)) is 34 km (21 mi) east of Dhaulagiri. The Kali Gandaki River flows between the two in the Kaligandaki Gorge, said to be the world's deepest. The town of Pokhara is south of the Annapurnas, an important regional center and the gateway for climbers and trekkers visiting both ranges as well as a tourist destination in its own right.

Tansen is a Municipality and the administrative center of Palpa District in the "hills" of central Nepal. It is located on the highway between Butwal and Pokhara, on the crest of the Mahabharat Range or Lesser Himalaya overlooking the valley of the Kaligandaki River to the north. The highway bypasses the town center on the west, protecting pedestrian amenities in the central maze of steep, narrow, winding alleys lined with Newari shophouses and temples.

Phewa Lake or Phewa Tal (Nepali: फेवा ताल, [ˈpʰewa tal]) is a freshwater lake in Nepal formerly called Baidam Tal located in the south of the Pokhara Valley that includes Pokhara city and parts of Sarangkot and Kaskikot. It is the third largest lake in Nepal and the largest in Gandaki Province after the Phoksundo lake in comparison to Nepal's water bodies. It is the most popular and most visited lake in Nepal. Phewa lake is located at an altitude of 742 m (2,434 ft) and covers an area of about 5.7 km (2.2 sq mi). It has an average depth of about 8.6 m (28 ft) and a maximum depth of 24 m (79 ft). The maximum water capacity of the lake is approximately 43,000,000 cubic metres (35,000 acre⋅ft). The Annapurna range on the north is only about 28 km (linear distance) away from the lake. The lake is also famous for the reflection of Mount Machhapuchhre and other mountain peaks of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges on its surface. The Tal Barahi Temple is situated on an island in the lake. It is located 4 km from the city's centre Chipledhunga.

The Western Development Region (Nepali: पश्चिमाञ्चल विकास क्षेत्र, Pashchimānchal Bikās Kshetra) was one of Nepal's five development regions. It was located in the west-central part of the country, with its headquarters located in Pokhara. This Development Region was divided into three parts, from south to north in order of increasing altitude: Terai, Hilly and Himalayan. Mustang, Damodar, Peri, Thaple, Ganesh are among the major ranges of the Himalayas.

It comprised three zones: