A Walk On The Wild-Side (Part Five) – McLeod Ganj to Dharamsala

There are several paths to take you down the hill. Alternatively you can work your way down the Jogiwara Road until you hit your destination, although it is continuously in the process of being repaired. It´s a journey of about 10kms, an altitude change of some 600metres and it contains several steep switchbacks.

Heading down you will pass Boom-Boom V on the left hand side – a great place to check out, although it has been closed all winter.

Further down on the left you will pass the Tibetan Delek hospital. This is clearly an excellent hospital, which rather sadly offers a “Torture Survival Victim” clinic. The use of Art is a common therapy technique.

About a further 100 metres down on your left, you will note a large green entrance way. This is part of the Tibetan Government in Exile compound. There are several buildings of interest to be found, including the Parliament building, the Supreme Justice and the Ministry buildings of Media, Health, Home Affairs and Security.

You will also find the imposing Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. The foundation stone for the Library's Tibetan style building was laid on 11th June 1970, in the hill station of Dharamsala, north India. Located within the compound of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, the Library serves as a repository for Tibetan artefacts and manuscripts and a centre for language and cultural education. Its holdings include more than 80,000 manuscripts, books and documents, hundreds of thangkas, statues, 6,000 photographs, and other materials. They run very popular daily Buddhist philosophy and Tibetan language classes for just a nominal monthly fee.

There is also the Nechung cafe offering between classes snacks – and small Tibetan temple on the site.


Back onto the Jogiwara Road and another 50 metres further down on the right, you will come across the buildings of the Tibetan Institute for Medicine and Astronomy. Detailed astrological charts can be obtained for about US$60 (which also include past lives) providing you can provide the time, date and town of birth , but it will take about a year to prepare. I am still awaiting mine!

The road will lead you down to the Kotwali Bazaar. It´s a bit of a dump, but fortunately I have only had to come here three times in eight months – it has a useful ATM when the McLeod Ganj branch machine is down. Andey´s Midtown restaurant serves up good kebabs and curries for around Rp150.