Tenyang Restaurant
Very close to Kora House
Tasty, traditional Tibetan food very close to the house. Tibetan thali, momos, mothuk (momo soup) and other noodle dishes.
The guidebook
What the hosts would tell you
This is the guidebook kept in the house, written by Rohitash and Ashish from their own town — where they eat, what they send guests to see, and the practical things that are genuinely hard to find out otherwise.
Where to eat
Twelve places, in the hosts' order
McLeodganj eats well for a small town — Tibetan, Indian, Japanese, and a lot of very good vegetarian food.
Crepe Pancake House
★ GUEST FAVOURITEVegetarian only
International food, and not only at breakfast — they have avocados. Tibetan owned, with a cosy upstairs dining loft and reading room. Avocado and brown rice salad, vegetable sushi, borscht, chow mein, Tibetan food, omelettes, and crepes in buckwheat, black bean, corn or millet flour. Homemade kombucha, ginger beer, green juice, soy milk smoothies, burritos, vegan quiche.
Water filterWiFiVegan options
Om Café
Officially Namgyal Restaurant, lower level of Om Hotel
Pizzas with goat cheese, salads, sandwiches and good Tibetan food. Entering the main square from Temple Road, take a sharp left and head down until you find the hotel; the café is on the lower level.
WiFi
Green Café
In the Green Hotel, connected to Himalaya Herbal
A comfortable indoor room and a charming outdoor patio. Soups — the blended spinach is the one — spring rolls, quiche, pancakes, chow mein and omelettes.
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Black Tent Café
Cosy, with cushioned seating and low tables with stools. Good chow mein, large salads, sandwiches, omelettes and Tibetan food.
WiFi
Moonpeak Café
Relatively close to Kora House
Simple and charming, and relatively close to the house. Porridge, omelettes, unusual sandwiches, salads and a large Indian menu — the Himachal thali is a favourite. Opens around 7.30am for breakfast.
Water filterWiFi
The Other Space
800 m on foot from Kora House
Made with a simple idea: to bring art into the mountains. More than a café — a gallery, a dessert corner, a coworking area and a small shop for local makers.
Rogpa Café
A non-profit café supporting the Tibetan Rogpa charity. Lemonade, coffee, pastries, chocolate balls, and a gift shop of handmade goods from the charity's women's craft centre.
Tibet Kitchen
Authentic Tibetan food — momos, noodle soup. Try the Bhutanese datse, vegetables or meat in a creamy chilli-cheese sauce.
Lung Ta
Vegetarian only
A vegetarian Japanese restaurant with a different set meal each day. Sushi day is the one — a multi-course meal with soup, salad and sushi. Normally Tuesday and Friday; check the sign on the door.
Common Ground
★ GUEST FAVOURITEA cosy, social café, good for reading and for meeting other travellers. Chinese and Tibetan food, plenty of vegetables, and things you won't find elsewhere — sizzlers, hot pots, decadent desserts. Cardamom white hot chocolate, and a ginger lemon honey with a hint of rum. Sells local fair-trade pottery. On the shortcut to Tushita, up from the main square.
Water filterWiFi
One Two Café
550 m from Kora House
At the Dalai Lama temple entrance. Opens at 7.30am for breakfast, serving Tibetan food alongside omelettes, noodle dishes and pastries.
What to see
Temples, treks and quiet rooms
Dalai Lama Main Temple & Tibet Museum
Tsuglagkhang Complex
A monastery, two temple rooms with ornate shrines, a bookstore and the Tibet Museum. Monks debate most afternoons, and there is chanting and ritual to watch. This is where His Holiness teaches when he gives public audiences.
Hike to Triund
9 km · 1,105 m ascent · about 3 hours up
The most popular trek in McLeodganj, climbing to the base camp at Triund for panoramic views of the whole Dhauladhar range and the Kangra valley. Serene, and full of wildflowers in spring and summer. Average difficulty. Two stops on the way for drinks and snacks. Some people stay the night in tents or in the government guesthouse cabins; with extra ambition you can go a further 5 km to the Lahesh Caves. A guide isn't necessary unless you need help carrying gear.
Norbulingka Institute
The 'heart of Tibetan culture' — a handicraft campus that is an architectural beauty in itself, with tranquil gardens, a good café, a doll museum, and workshops where you can watch the craftspeople work. A shuttle runs from Chonor House a few times a day, except Sundays when the workshops are closed.
Visit siteLibrary of Tibetan Works and Archives
About 30 minutes on foot, or a taxi down Jogiwara Road
The seat of the Tibetan Government in Exile, a monastery, and buildings painted with Tibetan designs and murals. The public library has an English reading room of books, magazines and newspapers on Buddhism, Tibet and local politics, and a collection of Tibetan artefacts in the museum upstairs. Buddhist philosophy classes are taught here — ask in the library for the schedule. Everything closes for lunch between 1 and 2pm. Illiterati Café is a good halfway stop if you walk.
Visit siteTushita Meditation Centre
Dharamkot · 40 minutes to an hour on foot from the house
Daily drop-in meditation, a Buddhist library, film screenings, talks by well-known teachers, ten-day silent retreats, pujas and residential courses. The shortcut is the uphill road from the main square.
Visit siteVipassana Meditation Centre
Dharamkot, next to Tushita
One of India's oldest meditation techniques — vipassana means insight, and the practice is observation-based and non-sectarian. The ten-day introductory course is highly recommended and books up quickly.
Visit siteBhagsu & Bhagsunag waterfall
About 2 km from McLeodganj
A walk through a peaceful, picturesque town, then steps up to the top of the waterfall, with small cafés along the way. The Shiva temple of Bhagsunath has an adjacent pool where locals swim in the cold water, and some shops sell the local dessert, Bhagsu cake.
Tibet World
A Tibetan charity, hostel and education centre teaching many languages — anyone can enrol, with discounts for locals, Tibetans, monks and nuns. Donation-based yoga, and a Tibetan cultural show of folk songs, stories and dance every Thursday evening. Next to Crepe Pancake House.
Sidhbari
About 20 minutes by taxi
A town ringed by hamlets of semi-nomadic Gaddi shepherds, who graze their goats on the higher slopes. Terrace farming is the main livelihood, and a growing number of families host visitors who want to see village life directly.
In Sidhbari
Both worth the twenty-minute taxi.
Tapovan Ashram
Chinmaya Mission Ashram
A serene Hindu ashram with the Shri Rama temple and a 25-foot idol of Lord Hanuman. Gardens and long views over the mountains and valleys make it a good place to sit. The trust runs a small clothing and goods shop across the street.
Visit siteGyuto Monastery
Home of the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa
A Tibetan Buddhist monastery and the seat of the Karmapa. Very beautiful, and a good place for quiet contemplation. The Karmapa and the Dalai Lama give talks here periodically.
Visit siteThe kora itself starts at the door — it has its own page.
Volunteering
If you have an hour, or a month
Dharamsala is the seat of the Tibetan Government in Exile and home to the largest Tibetan refugee population, so there are a great many organisations working on education and on preserving Tibetan cultural heritage. Even an hour is useful — the drop-in class at LHA is the easiest way in, and you will get as much out of it as you put in.
LHA
Pronounced 'lah'
English and other classes for Tibetan refugees, plus a range of volunteer projects. A drop-in English conversation hour runs every weekday from 4 to 5pm — no experience needed, and new volunteers are always welcome. They also accept clothing donations.
Visit siteTibet World
A community centre and hostel offering language classes to local Tibetans, monks and Indians — English, French, Chinese, German and others, from conversation level to advanced. No experience needed to volunteer.
Rogpa Charitable Trust
Runs a baby care centre, a women's craft centre, a children's library project and the café. Stop by the café to hear about the work and to buy something made at the craft centre.
Active Nonviolence Education Centre
ANEC
Directed by a retired political chair for the Tibetan Government in Exile, ANEC teaches nonviolent approaches to the Tibetan political situation, drawing on Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Their Jogiwara Road office hosts Friday gatherings and film screenings.
Dalai Lama teachings
How to actually get in
His Holiness's public teaching schedule is published at dalailama.com. Many of the local Dharamsala teachings never make it onto the website, so the reliable way to find out is to go to the security office and ask.
Where to register
From the McLeodganj main square, about 100 m along Bhagsu Road — on your right, before the Green Shop and the Environmental Office. Go down the stairs; there are a few offices, and usually someone who speaks English.
Bring to register
- Passport
- A pen, to fill in the form
- A passport photo — sometimes needed. There is a digital shop a few metres past the security office that takes them.
Bring to the teaching
- An FM radio and headphones — translations are broadcast if the talk isn't in English
- A mug, for the butter tea that is handed round
- Water, and bread or a snack; there can be a lot of waiting. Tibetan and sweet bread are sold at the main temple gate in the mornings
- Something to sit on — a cushion or a blanket
- Paper and a pencil if you want to take notes
Leave behind
Leave your phone and any other electronics behind, apart from the radio. You will not be allowed to bring them in.
Numbers worth having
Taxis and emergencies
Anything missing? Ask at the house — that's what we're for.