Dharamshala

On March 31, 1959, as the Chinese army took over Lhasa, the 24-year-old Dalai Lama, dressed as a soldier, crossed from Tibet into the safety of India via the Khenzimana Pass. After a 15-day, 800-mi trek, across the wide Brahmaputra river, from Lhasa with six cabinet ministers in tow, he reached the Tawang Monastery in the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Some 80,000 Tibetans followed him into exile in the days that followed. Looking for a mountain home for his displaced people, His Holiness arrived in Dharamshala in 1960, and finally settled here.

Visiting Dharamshala is the best way to see Tibet without actually going there. A population of 15,000 Tibetans has turned McLeod Ganj into a miniature Tibet to the point where it feels anachronistic, like a phony Shangri-La (they call it Dhasa). The town attracts a strange mix of soul seekers and dope seekers, not to mention down-at-the-heel backpackers looking for a cheap extended holiday. Simply put, McLeod Ganj is a tourist zoo, with crowds of yuppies, hippies, Western Buddhists, honeymooners... and occasionally Richard Gere.

Thousands of Buddhists live here, as well as in the remote, high-altitude districts of Lahaul, Spiti, and Kinnaur. Most practice a Tibetan form of tantric Buddhism, whereby various spiritual techniques are used to achieve enlightenment in a short amount of time. Tibetan women twist their hair into numerous long pigtails held in place by a silver ornament, and wear a long robe outfit called a chuba with a colorful apron; many men wear long maroon or brown overcoats. As in most Buddhist communities, men and women share all tasks, from raising a family to working in the fields where they grow crops of barley, buckwheat, and potatoes.

Dharamshala now suffers from a profusion of travelers and ugly hotels, which seem to disturb the inherent tranquility of this hill station. The tourist office and many hotels are in lower Dharamshala, but there's no real reason to linger here.

Tibetan crafts, antiques, jewelry, and clothing are available in McLeod Ganj.

The local wine shops sell apple beer and apple wine.

A drive or trek into the countryside makes for a nice change. Don't linger after dark—muggings and other crimes have been reported on Bhagsu Road—and be sure to take an umbrella or raincoat, as Dharamshala's weather is variable.

On the spiritual and physical levels, there's lots to do at McLeod Ganj. You can enroll in yoga classes, have your long-term ailments considered by a doctor of Tibetan medicine, learn Buddhist philosophy, or study Tibetan art. Practically every hotel and Tibetan restaurant has literature detailing what's going on, and you'll also see flyers all over town.