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The most accessible of Pokhara's Tibetan settlements, Tashiling lies just south of the Siddhartha Highway in Chhorepatan, about 2km west of Damside. On a bicycle you can be there in ten or fifteen minutes. With some 750 residents, Tashiling is smaller than Tashi Palkhel, but laid out on much the same lines. The entrance road takes you first past a gompa, a primary school, several rows of distinctly Tibetan barracks-style stone houses (the windows trimmed with characteristic orange and white skirts) and, in a separate compound on the left, a school for Tibetan orphans from all over Nepal. Next comes a central open area that supports a semi-permanent bazaar of curio stalls and shops, whose salespeople call out from the sidelines like sirens - this is where those Lakeside didis learned their skills! Still, if you're planning to make any purchases while in Pokhara, it's worth at least checking out the offerings here first. Walk all the way to the far end of the compound to reach the community's small carpet-weaving hall and wool-dyeing shed; a short walk beyond brings you to an abrupt drop and a glorious panorama of the valley of the Phusre Khola, a Seti tributary. On the opposite side of the highway, Devin's Fall (entrance Rs5) marks the spot where the Pardi Khola - the stream that drains Phewa Tal - enters a grottoed channel and sinks underground in a sudden rush of foam and fury. Given a good monsoon run-off in the autumn it can be damned impressive, as the green water corkscrews and thunders into the earth, forcing up a continuous plume of mist; in the spring it's a washout. The spot is perhaps more interesting as a source of pop mythology: known to locals as Patale Chhango (roughly, "Waterfall to the Underworld"), the sinkhole is said to have acquired its Western-sounding nickname when a "female European" was drowned while skinny-dipping with her boyfriend. An alternate spelling, David's Fall, suggests it may have been the boyfriend who perished. The sign at the entrance reads "Devi's Fall", illustrating the Nepali propensity to deify everything that moves ( devi means goddess). The whole story sounds like a fabrication to warn local youth to shun promiscuous Western ways. If you're in this neighbourhood on a bike, set aside at least a little time to check out the dramatic Seti canyon south of Pokhara. There's an access point to the river near the mountaineering museum, and the road following the river southeastwards from there makes an excellent jaunt - you can ride for miles, though don't forget that you're going downhill and you'll eventually have to climb back up.
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