A Tibetan refugee settlement of around 1,000 people, founded in the early 1960s after the Chinese occupation of Tibet. Tashi Palkhel — at Hyangja, about 7km north of Pokhara — is the largest of the four such settlements around the city and the easiest to visit.
The settlement contains the Jangchub Choeling Monastery (yellow-hat Gelugpa school), a school, a small museum on the Tibetan diaspora, and a carpet workshop where you can watch women weaving traditional Tibetan rugs and buy them direct. Prices are fair and the proceeds support the community. Visits are quiet and welcomed; a short taxi ride from Lakeside. The smaller Tashiling settlement near Devi's Falls offers a similar experience.