Royal Mountain Travel Magazine Royal Mountain Travel Magazine Issue 1 | Page 59

Heaven on Earth
The Shangri-La Village
The resort is spread out arranged up into split levels, and attractive and unique
features of this delightful resort. If the theme may be one of rustic elegance, the
amenities provided are fully modern and up to date.
In the year 1952, the well known geologist and
authorToni Hagen took a photograph in Pokhara,
facing north towards the Annapurna range. This
classicpicturesoonenoughbecamerepresentative
of Pokhara’s beauty to people abroad. In 1990,
Shyam Bahadur Pandey, hotelier and patriarch of
the Shangri-La Hotel in Kathmandu, looking for
a site to open a deluxe resort in Pokhara, chose
the very same spot from which Hagen took his
famous panorama of the Annapurna mountains.

bodiesandwater,includingaclearflowingstream
and a swimming pool with a waterfall.The whole
effect is one of total enchantment.“The western
Himalayas belong to the Shangri-La Village,
Pokhara. The Annapurna, Macchapucchre,
Dhaulagiri all gaze down at the cuddle of ethnic
buildings that reflect the timeless villages of
Nepal. Every room has a view and for every guest
at the Shangri-La Village, the Himalayas become
up close and personal”.

This view was the key feature defining not just
the location of the resort, but also the way it was
designed and built. This has been done in a most
creative manner using locally available material
and keeping in mind the architectural traditions
of the region. Architecture has been inspired by
the forms and textures of Nepal’s villages suitably
enhanced by charming garden and delightful

Rustic elegance
The resort is spread out and arranged in split
levels, which is one of the unique features of this
delightful resort. Even if the theme may be one of
rustic elegance, the amenities provided are fully
modern and up to date with the rooms having
air conditioning and heated with individually
controlledthermostats.Alltheroomshaveprivate

www.royalmt.com.np

balconies facing the mighty Annapurna range
and each room has a mini bar, hair dryer, satellite
television, tea/coffee maker and international
direct dialing. The rooms open out directly to
the gardens via the large French windows. The
gardens are also easily accessible from the central
walkway that leads to the guest rooms, the lobby
and the restaurants. The resort’s conference hall
known as the“Traders Hall”is designed to portray
resting-places for caravans in ancient times, with
strategically placed wooden columns, a thatch
roof and a verandah that goes around the hall.
Nestled in the tranquil heart of Pokhara, not far
from the tourist area around the famous Fewa
Tal (lake), the Shangri-La Village Resort most
certainly lives its name, that of a Shangri-la here
on earth.

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