Mcleod Ganj – Little Tibet In India
After the dirty, noisy and crowded cities of India, once you find yourself in Mcleod Ganj, you feel a relief. You will not be bothered by people staring at you in an offensive way. You will not be attacked by street beggars, dogs and cows. People are much nicer and calmer. Streets are cleaner. Air is lighter…
This is the place for Tibetan government in exile along with headquarter of DalaiLama XIV. Many Tibetan refugees and monks found here shelter and live here with their families. You can feel the sadness of this place in the air, as these people are forced to live outside of their country. On the other hand they are happy and safe here, passing positive feelings of Buddhism religion to the visitors of the city.
Of course must see is the the Dalai Lama’s temple – Tsuglagkhang. You will see here Buddhists praying here in traditional way, which for me was very impressing. You can admire Tibetan art and statues and paintings. It is free four tourists to walk around. You can also take some meditations course, study Tibetan philosophy and if you are lucky enough, you can also participate in Dalai Lama’s lecture.
The day I was there, his holiness Dalai Lama was coming back to the city. It was great to see how streets and people were getting ready for him to pass the road to his temple. From the very morning one guy was walking around the city with megaphone announcing that at this and this time he will go through this and this street. People were given white ribbons to wave at him. The shops were closing down. He was welcomed so enthusiastically, as he would enter the city for the first time.
I was not very familiar with Tibetan culture and Buddhism but staying in the city for few days, walking around Tibetan sites and temples, talking to people, gave me deeper understanding of its history and rules. And I loved it and the positive energy that comes with it. The people do not rush everywhere. They don’t try to steal from you or fool you. You can simply sit in the coffee place, enjoy your food in the local restaurant and suck the positive ambient. The place definitely is not for party lovers. You don’t even feel like making a noise or mess over there.
Mcleod Ganj landed on the list of my favorite cities in India at the very top mainly because of the Tibetan people and positive attitude towards me.