Bir Tibetan Colony is a Tibetan refugee settlement in the Himalayan Mountain village of Chowgan on the outskirts of the town of Bir. This Tibetan settlement is located in the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India.
Location of Bir Tibetan Colony
Bir Tibetan Colony is located in the western half of the village of Chowgan, on the south-western edge of the town of Bir, in the Tehsil (administrative subdivision) of Baijnath, in Kangra district, in Himachal Pradesh. Bir Tibetan Colony has the exact geographical extension in the east-southeast of Dharamshala and is three hours by bus from Dharamshala. It is situated 6 kilometres south of the popular paragliding destination of billing, on the way to the Thamsar Pass leading to Bara Bhangal.
Establishment of Bir Tibetan Colony
Bir Tibetan Colony was established in the early 1960s by Chokling Rinpoche following the exile of the Dalai Lama and other refugees from Tibet.
Geography of Bir Tibetan Colony
Geologically, Bir is situated in the Dhauladhar Range of the foothills of the Indian Himalayas.
Structure of Bir Tibetan Colony
The Tibetan Colony or 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. It is also home to a number of shops, cafés, and guest houses.
Tourism near Bir Tibetan Colony
Near Bir Tibetan Colony, there are some tourist importance places which are worth visiting. Some of the tourist importance places in Bir Tibetan Colony are Deer Park Institute, Chokling Gompa, Men-Tsee-Khang, Dharmalaya, Dzongsar Institute. These tourist spots are very near to Bir Tibetan Colony, which is now the permanent residential spot for the people of Tibet, who came to Himachal Pradesh to have a refugee.
Visiting Information
The nearest railway station is Ahju, on the narrow-gauge line running between Pathankot and Jogindernagar via Kangra. The road access to Bir Tibetan Colony is from the Bir Road turnoff on NH20, approximately midway between Baijnath and Jogindernagar. Bir Tibetan Colony is easily accessible not only from Himachal Pradesh, but also from other places like Delhi and Shimla.
