McLeod Ganj, also known as Upper Dharamsala, is located in Himachal Pradesh
in Northern India. It is the home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan
Government in exile. A large proportion of the population is Tibetan rather
than Indian, and the whole town feels totally different to anywhere else in
India for this reason.
Behind the town to the north runs a ridge of mountains, part of the foothills
of the Himalayas.
The predominant religion, unsurprisingly, is Tibetan Buddhism. This
expanse of prayer wheels is located in the middle of the town between the
two main streets which run parallel to each other.
This tree is located in the courtyard between the Dalai Lama's residence
and his temple. The text of the sign reads:
Panchen Lama Gedhun Choekyi Nyima Born : April 25, 1989. World's
youngest prisoner of conscience. As of April 25, 1997, the 8th birthday
of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, on every friday of each week until his release,
a yellow ribbon will be tied to this tree and a prayer said for the
immediate release of the 11th reincarnation of the Panchen Lama from his
imprisonment by the Chinese communists.
Tibetan Women's Association (Central Executive Members)
This is Dip Tse Chok Ling monastery, just down the hill from the town
centre. We visited here on the morning of Tibetan New Year (17 Feb 1999)
after hearing the Dalai Lama give his speech to the crowds gathered at
his temple further down the road.
We were able to go inside the temple and join the New Year celebrations.
The monks had been there since 3am that morning, but we arrived in time
for the last hour of the celebrations, which included prize-giving to the
monks, and food and drink for all. The chanting and gongs and cymbals
were very evocative.
McLeod Ganj is well endowed with modern facilities for the backpacker,
including fast Internet cafes such as this one.
