Pokhara is in the northwestern corner of the Pokhara Valley,[7] which is a widening of the Seti Gandaki valley that lies in the midland region (Pahad) of the Himalayas. In this region the mountains rise very quickly[8] and within 30 km, the elevation rises from 1,000 m to over 7,500 m. As a result of this sharp rise in altitude the area of Pokhara has one of the highest precipitation rates in the country (3,350 mm/year or 131 inches/year in the valley to 5600 mm/year or 222 inches/year in Lumle).[9] Even within the city there is a noticeable difference in rainfall between the south and the north of the city, the northern part of the city situated at the foothills of the mountains experiences proportionally higher amount of precipitation. The Seti Gandaki is the main river flowing through the city.
The Seti Gandaki (White River) and its tributaries have created several gorges and canyons in and around the whole city which gives intriguingly long sections of terrace features to the city and surrounding areas. These long sections of terraces are interrupted by gorges which are hundreds of meters deep.[11] The Seti gorge runs through the whole city from north to south and then west to east and at places these gorges are only a few metres wide. In the north and south, the canyons are wider.