Bylakuppe, Coorg

Bylakuppe is second biggest Tibetan settlement in India, after Dharamshala. It is just at a 6 km-distance from Kushalnagara. There are two Tibetan settlements Lugsum Samdupling and Dickyi Larsoe, in which thousands of Tibetan refugees live in exile.

After the Chinese occupation in Tibet these Tibetan refugees have escaped their homeland to get shelter in these settlements. There are agricultural settlements, Tibetan monasteries, tourist oriented Tibetan eateries and handicraft shops all over this place.

The main attraction in Bylakuppe is the Golden Temple or Namdroling Monastery which adheres to the typical Tibetan style of architecture and appears as a pleasant surprise in South India. The golden colour 40 ft tall idols of Padmasambhava, Buddha and Amitayus are heavily decorated and awe inspiring.

The prayer drums, prayer wheels and the doors are full of handcrafted decorations. The walls of the temple are filled with Tibetan Thangka, a paintings depicting all the incarnations of Buddha and the deities of Vajrayana Buddhism. Large educational monastic institution Sera, the smaller Tashilunpo monastery, Sera Mey and Sera Jay monasteries and many other Buddhist universities for advanced Buddhist practices are also the flag-bearers of the Tibetan Buddhism.