DesiPundit

Akshay visits Bylakuppe, the biggest Tibetan settlement outside Tibet.

The facade of Bylakuppe, brought three monumental chortens into view: symbols of the Nyingma Buddhist faith displaced from the trans-Himalayan highlands and planted here, among coconut groves and betelnut plantations. The settlement first took shape in 1959 when many tibetan refugees were given the opportunity to re-shape their lives and preserve their culture. This sleepy little town is deceptive for it is a home to twenty thousand tibetan and to eleven monasteries, making it undoubtedly the capital of Tibetan culture in exile.