Deer Park Institute The Deer Park Institute is a centre for the study of classical Indian wisdom traditions, which is established by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche in March 2006 under the patronage of the Dalai Lama. Deer Park Institute hosts frequent guest lectures and workshops with reputed scholars and meditation teachers. Dharmalaya Institute Dharmalaya Institute is an eco-campus for service-learning and contemplative practice. Dharmalaya is an Indian charitable society (NGO) devoted to education, service, and compassionate living, with a practical focus on sustainable village development, contemplative service-learning, and immersive ecotourism Dharmalaya hosts work retreats and meditation retreats, providing opportunities for long-term volunteers and meditation students to do karma yoga (mindful service work with an unselfish, altruistic intention) for various charitable projects to benefit the local community and the natural environment. The programmes include green building, green job skills training for local villagers, organic farming, and a tree-planting project. Chokling Gompa Chokling Gompa is the monastery of Neten Chokling Rinpoche, a reincarnate Lama in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and the director of the film Milarepa (2006). The Tibetan architecture and large Stupa are the principal attractions for casual visitors. In addition to its ongoing programmes for its full-time monastic students, the monastery periodically hosts Buddhist ceremonies open to the public. There is a guest house and restaurant on the premises. Bir Tea Factory Bir Tea Factory is a longstanding Bir cooperative, which offers tours for those interested in the process of tea production. Bir-Billing Area Bir-Billing area is a popular destination for ecotourism and adventure travel, offering paragliding, hang-gliding, trekking and camping. Bir Tibetan Colony Bir Tibetan Colony is a Tibetan refugee settlement located at the west end of the village of Chowgan on the south-western edge of the village of Bir. Bir Tibetan Colony was established in the early 1960s following the exile of the Dalai Lama and other Tibetans from Tibet. Bir Tibetan Colony houses several Tibetan monasteries (representing the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Sakya traditions), a Tibetan handicraft centre, a Tibetan Children's Village school (Suja), a branch of the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute (Men-Tsee-Khang), a medical clinic, and the Deer Park Institute. |