Tibetan Prayer Flags Fly On The Grounds Of The Tsuglagkhang Complex Which Is The Dalai Lamas Residence In Exile In McLeod Gang, Dharmsala, India

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Dharamsala

Dharamsala (also spelled Dharamshala) is known as the home of the Dalai Lama, though in fact the Tibetan spiritual leader is based about two miles up the hill in McLeod Ganj, and that's where most visitors are heading. Dharamsala proper is a market town mostly useful for bus connections.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • A Tibetan Stupa On The Grounds Of The Tsuglagkhang Complex Which Is The Dalai Lamas Residence In Exile In Mcleod Gang, Dharmsala, India. (Photo By: Education Images/UIG via Getty Images)

    Tsuglagkhang Complex

    Mcleod Ganj

    McLeod's main focus for visiting pilgrims, monks and most tourists is the Tsuglagkhang complex, a custard-coloured concrete monastic village that's home…

  • Norbulingka Institute

    Norbulingka Institute

    Dharamsala

    Soothingly set amid bamboo, trees and flowing water, the delightful Norbulingka Institute, 6km southeast of Dharamsala, was established in 1988 to teach…

  • Tibet Museum

    Tibet Museum

    Mcleod Ganj

    This must-see, two-storey museum sets out to remind visitors of Tibet's history as an independent nation, mourning the Chinese occupation (since 1949) and…

  • Tsuglagkhang Main Temple Room

    Tsuglagkhang Main Temple Room

    Mcleod Ganj

    Spiritually (if certainly not architecturally) the Tsuglagkhang's 1969 central temple room is the exiles’ concrete equivalent of the Jokhang temple in…

  • Men-Tsee-Khang

    Men-Tsee-Khang

    Mcleod Ganj

    Men-Tsee-Khang is an organisation established to preserve the traditional arts of Tibetan medicine and astrology. The Gangchen Kyishong branch includes a…

  • Library of Tibetan Works & Archives

    Library of Tibetan Works & Archives

    Mcleod Ganj

    Inside the government-in-exile compound, nearly 2km downhill from the Tsuglagkhang complex, the Library of Tibetan Works & Archives began life as a…

  • Gyuto Tantric Gompa

    Gyuto Tantric Gompa

    Dharamsala

    Standing in for the 1474 Tibet original, this large monastic complex forms an attractive scene backed by mountainscape at Sidhbari village (7km from…

  • Tibetan Children’s Village

    Tibetan Children’s Village

    Mcleod Ganj

    Just a short hop from the underwhelming Dal Lake, 3km northwest of McLeod, the Tibetan Children’s Village provides free education for nearly 2000 refugee…

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