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While it just about scrapes a description as a geological wonder, Mahendra Gupha (Mahendra Cave; Rs15) is probably best thought of as a base from which to explore the snug hills and side valleys north of Pokhara. To get there by bike, cross K. I. Singh Pul (Bridge) (a cross between Che Guevara and Houdini, K. I. Singh led the western insurgents in the 1951 overthrow of the Rana regime, twice being imprisoned and twice escaping, and later briefly served as prime minister) at the top end of Pokhara and head north past the Gurkha camp, turn right up a paved road 600m beyond the bridge, and follow it for about 3km to the end. The climb is relentless and if you're on a one-speed bike you'll have to push some of the way (the reward comes on the way back). A taxi will charge about Rs300 return. Some city buses come up this way (change at Prithvi Narayan Campus). Water percolating through the valley's limestone sediments has created a honeycomb of caves extending up to 2km from the main entrance, though a guided tour of the illuminated part only takes about ten to fifteen minutes. Mahendra Cave used to be well known for its stalactites, but these have unfortunately been ransacked by vandals; a few surviving stalagmites are daubed with red sindur and revered as shivalinga because of their resemblance to phalluses. A cafe near the entrance serves food in a pleasant garden setting. If caves are your cup of tea, then ask one of the guides to take you to Chamere Gupha ("Bat Cave"; Rs15 plus something for the guide), about ten minutes' walk away. It's a bit of a scramble down into the main chamber, a big, dripping, sweating space with thousands of bats hanging from the ceiling - only in Nepal could you go into such a place with a stranger and not be worried about being bludgeoned to death. Bring your own torch/flashlight, or rent one from the ticket seller. Eastwards from Mahendra Cave, a trail beckons up the Kali Khola , a minor tributary of the Seti, to the village of Armala. Adventurous types might want to forge on. Scrambling up the cultivated slopes on either side of the valley might make for some interesting encounters and good views. By traversing the ridge to the south, you should theoretically be able to return to Pokhara the same day via the Bhalam Khola. About 1km south of Mahendra Cave, the road from Pokhara passes through BATULECHAUR , a village locally famous for its gaaine . Wandering minstrels of the old school, gaaine are still found throughout the hills, earning their crust by singing ballads to the accompaniment of the sarangi, a four-stringed, hand-hewn fiddle: "I have no rice to eat/let the strings of the sarangi set to," runs the gaaine 's traditional opening couplet. These days, many find they can make better money down at Lakeside serenading tourists, spawning legions of inept imitators. To vary the route on the way back, take a left onto a paved road just before K. I. Singh Pul and then look for a pathway off to the left. From there you can cross the Kali and Bhalam rivers by footbridges (you'll have to carry your bike a bit) to get to the Kahun Daada area
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