Located 200 km west of the capital Kathmandu Pokhara (Nepali: पोखरा) is the second largest city of Nepal as well as the headquarters of Kaski District, Gandaki Zone and the Western Development Region. Despite being a comparatively smaller valley than Kathmandu, its geography varies dramatically within just few kilometres from north to south. The altitude varies from 780 m in the southern part to 1350 m in the north. Additionally, the Annapurna Range with three out of the ten highest mountains in the world — Dhaulagiri, Annapurna I and Manaslu — is within about 15 km linear distance from the valley.