Bylakuppe

Land was allotted here in the early 1960s for Tibetan refugees, and the settlement grew into one of the largest outside Tibet, with several camps, agricultural land, schools and monasteries supporting tens of thousands of people. Namdroling, the Golden Temple, is the best known: a Nyingma monastery whose main hall holds three gilded statues around eighteen metres tall, with walls painted in Tibetan style, and a large monastic community of monks and nuns. Sera and Tashi Lhunpo monasteries, re-established here from their Tibetan originals, are also in the settlement. Tibetan food and craft shops line the roads.

What you actually see

• Namdroling monastery - the golden hall with three eighteen-metre statues.
• The painted walls - Tibetan mural work through the prayer hall.
• The re-established monasteries - Sera and Tashi Lhunpo rebuilt here.
• The settlement - farmland, schools and Tibetan shops and kitchens.

When to go

October to March; Losar, the Tibetan new year, falls in late winter and is the liveliest time. Prayer sessions in the main hall run morning and afternoon.

Honest expectations

Foreign nationals require a protected area permit to stay overnight in the settlement, though day visits to Namdroling are generally straightforward. Photography inside the hall is restricted during prayers.

Nearby

Kushalnagar lies just northwest; Coorg is west.