Bir Tibetan Colony
Bir Tibetan Colony is a Tibetan refugee settlement in the Himalayan village of Chowgan adjacent to the town of Bir, in the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
Bir Tibetan Colony
Chowgan | |
|---|---|
village | |
Bir Tibetan Colony Location in Himachal Pradesh, India Bir Tibetan Colony Bir Tibetan Colony (India) | |
| Coordinates: 32.037655°N 76.713088°E | |
| Country | India |
| Region | North India |
| State | Himachal Pradesh |
| District | Kangra |
| Tehsil | Baijnath |
| Elevation | 1,404 m (4,606 ft) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Hindi, English |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 176 077 |
| Telephone code | 91-1894 |
| Website | birhp |
Bir Tibetan Colony was established in the early 1960s by Chokling Rinpoche following the exile of the Dalai Lama and other refugees from Tibet.
The town of Bir and the Tibetan Colony house several Tibetan monasteries and their support facilities representing the Nyingma school, the Karma Kagyu school, and the Sakya school. The Tibetan Colony has a Tibetan handicraft centre, a Tibetan Children's Village school (Suja), and a branch of the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute (Men-Tsee-Khang), as well as a medical clinic. The Deer Park Institute is in Bir's Tibetan Colony, as is also a number of restaurants, shops, cafés, and guest houses.