Here is the quick guide for the options for staying at Bylakuppe. Bylakuppe offers simple stays at couple of monasteries along with plenty of hotels and resorts that fit fat and thin wallets alike
If you are looking for off-beat options for staying in Kushalnagar/Bylakuppe, then monastery run guest houses are the ones that you should consider. The reason that I am rallying for these is simple; one can get closer to experiencing Tibetan culture thoroughly. But a word of caution, the amenities are pretty basic and don’t expect luxury in these monastery stays. There are four monasteries which run the guest houses. Below are those, listed according to my preference. If you are in Bylakuppe to experience the Tibetan flavour, I would recommend staying in one of these.
Here are some of hotels to stay while in bylakuppe:

1. Yiga Choeling Center – Sera Jey Guest House – It is run by Sera Jey Monastery. Sera Jey, Sera Mey and other monasteries around these form the largest monk gatherings in Bylakuppe. The Guest House is location approximately 200 meters from the monasteries. Yiga Choeling Center has ample parking space, a canteen which serve basic and inexpensive food, a tea shop amidst the lawn and a small-sized super market. Lemon Honey Ginger tea in the tea shop is a must-try. Make sure you call them and book your stay well in advance for this is the most popular monastery stay (Phone – 082232 58723). Air-conditioned rooms with TV (who needs it in Bylakuppe, by the way), hot water and RO treated water facilities are available here.

2. Sera Mey Guest House and Café – This is run by Sera Mey monastery and is a new landmark in the camp. It has a cafe attached to it with varied options of desserts and drinks catering to visitors. Probably, the only posh cafe in Bylakuppe. (Phone – 095359 89620).

3. Sakya Guest House, Bylakuppe – This is run by Sakya Monastery, one of the smallest monasteries in Bylakuppe. The guest house is in the same compound as that of the monastery. Location of the guest house is fantastic – pretty isolated, calm and well maintained lawns just add the dosage of serenity. All the rooms are non-AC, TV is not available (who needs it in Bylakuppe, by the way). Hot water availability is at the mercy of Sun

4. Paljor Dhargey Ling Guest House and Shopping Center – Let’s call it Namdroling Guest House or Golden Temple Guest House (Phone – 72595 99165) for the sake of convenience, as it is stone’s throw away from the Golden temple. Only apprehension that I have about this place is the lack of secured parking space for the vehicles. Malaya restaurant and Buddha cafe are in the same complex as that of the guest house. Malaya serves oriental cuisine while Buddha cafe serves fantastic desserts and refreshing drinks. if you don’t mind walking ~50 meters further, you have the best restaurant in Bylakuppe – Rigo Restaurant.

Tibetan handicrafts have fully displayed the wisdom of Tibetan people and become a unique art form in the world. Getting a closer look at those delicate crafts, you’ll catch a strong feeling of Tibetan characteristics from the selected materials, elaborate design and perfect color match.

While traveling in bylakuppe, you are highly recommended to buy some Tinetan souvenirs for your family and friends. As the most famous Tibetan shops in Bylakuppe, 4th and 1st camp shopping center is also a distributing center for Tibetan handicrafts and accessories. Here you can see all kinds of crafts and art works in Tibet, like Tibetan incense, knife, pottery wares, ornaments,jewelry, carpets and quilts,etc.

The outside of Golden Temple is lined with clothing and accessories stories selling everything Tibetan style. You can buy hipster accessories either crafted locally or imported all the way from Tibet at reasonable prices. And inside the town, towards its colonies, are small buildings that shelter many artistic Tibetan handicrafts showcased only for display.

Tibetan handicrafts sling bags and shoulder bags are very fancy and stylish thats why it is quite famous among yougsters in bylakuppe. Even printed tshirts and pants are also available. The prices for products are a same in all the shops. It is not very expensive but reasonable.

2nd camp tso (lake ) is situated in 2nd camp, bylakuppe. It is considered to be very scared because during one of the Buddhist festivel many tibetan comes to lake to acquit the fishes into the lake. It is a very peaceful and calm place. You can find different varities of fishes in the lake,specially the cat fish. There are many sitting chairs to relax and enjoy the nature. People normally love going in the evening when sun is at dawn. They feel more relax and find peace within themselves. There is also one small petty shop inside the lake where you can buy biscuits to feed the fishes in the lake. Fishes really enjoys the biscuits feed to them. Water in lake is not that high level but durning the heavy rain, the lake over flows with water. So many fishes die during that time. Other days its always peaceful and loving place to spend time. There are many restaurant next to the lake to visit. In this lake ones will truly understand the beauty of nature. If you really need a break from the busy city and adventurous life. It is right place to visit the beautiful lake. This lake stands very unique and beautiful among all the camps in bylakuppe.

Bylakuppe has many eateries where you will get authentic Tibetan cuisine. All the foods are prepared by Tibetan themselves. Ones should never leave Bylakuppe before trying these multiple Tibetan dishes. Foods are very fresh and yummy too.
There are different varieties of food but most famous foods are momo, thukpa, laphing, tingmo and shaptak.

MOMO
Momo are Tibetan dumplings which are made with either meat or vegetables stuff inside the small dough. The half-moon-shaped momo can be either steamed or fried and served with very spicy chilly sauce.
THUKPA
Thukpa is a hot noodle soup made with mixing vegetables or meat. It mostly goes well with the cold weather of bylakuppe. It is very famous in bylakuppe. It also has different varieties.
LAPHING
Laphing is a spicy cold mung bean noodle dish in Tibetan cuisine. It is a street food. It can be eaten with red pepper chili, cilantro and green onion sauce. The noodles have slippery texture and are served with Soya sauce gravy. It is traditionally a summer food. It is very famous and most of the youngsters love eating since it is very spicy.
TINGMO
Tingmo is steamed bread in Tibetan cuisine. it is sometimes described as a steamed bun that is similar to Chinese flower rolls. It doesn’t contain any kind of filling. A tingmo with some type of filling with beef or chicken is called as momo. It mostly goes well with the side dish like shaptak or any meat or vegetable gravy.
SHAPTAK
The word shaptak in Tibetan means fried meat. The lead role is played by the meat which is thoroughly boiled, thinly sliced into pieces, sautéed with onion, capsicum, and chili paste. It’s a semi dry dish with not too much gravy. Last but not the least we have
BUTTER TEA
Butter tea is a must-drink tea of Tibetan meal. It is a boiled strong tea added with butter and salt. It is drunk to keep the body warm and fresh. Some say it tastes like soup and some may even say it taste funny. Whether you are new comer to Bylakuppe you should definitely try the butter tea.

Sera Jey Monastery follows its centuries old tradition and culture dating back to its great period in Tibet, to this present day without much significant change. As such the monastery continues to exist in a typical Tibetan Gelukpa monastic tradition to this day.

 The 14th Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 and sought asylum there. During the month of March of the same year the Sera Jey Monastery had been destroyed by bombardment, which resulted in death of hundreds of monks (in 1959, the count of monks living in Sera Jey was 5629), apart from destruction of ancient texts and loss of innumerable, invaluable, ancient and antique works of art. Many of those who survived (monks and common people) this onslaught by the Chinese fled to India, under severe winter weather conditions, across the Himalayas. Following this mass exodus of people from Tibet (including, a few hundred Sera Jey lamas, geshes and monks), when they arrived in India, they were resettled at Bylakuppenear Mysore, Karnataka state among many other locations spread across the country, as one of the exclusive Tibetan establishments with ready assistance forthcoming from the Government of India. It was in 1970 that the group of 197 Sera Jey monks with 103 of Sera Mey monks established a special monastery within the resettlement of Bylakuppe as a counterpart of the Tibetan Sera Jey Monastery. As none of the monks of the Ngagpa Dratsang (Tantric College) had survived the invasion, only the Sera Mey College and Sera Jey College were re-formed in India. The Bylakuppe Monastery now houses 5,000 Buddhist monks comprising some migrants and many other Tibetans who were not born in their ancestral homeland.

With forest land allotted by the Government of India, two arms of the Sera Monastery, representing the migrant monks of the Tibetan Sera Je and Sera Me colleges were established; 193 Sera je monks got 147.75 acres (59.79 ha) and 107 monks of Sera Me got an allotment of the balance area. Further, 38 tenements were built with grants by the Government of India for the Monks to reside and pursue their vocation of monkshood coupled with tilling the surrounding allotted land for raising food crops for survival. Well established as an organised Monastery with dedicated efforts of the monks, an Assembly Prayer Hall that could accommodate 1500 monks was also completed in 1978. This Monastery is now the nodal monastery, with its affiliation to several smaller monasteries spread across various regions in Tibet; its popularity could be gauged by the 3000 or more monks living here now. Encouraged by this success and noting the pressure on existing infrastructure, an additional, much larger and an impressive Assembly hall (measuring 23,275 square feet (2,162.3 m2), 31 feet (9.4 m) high with 110 pillars) has been built that can accommodate 3500 monks to assemble for prayers. With this development, Sera has now two facets, the original “Tibetan Sera” and the Bylakuppe “New Sera” of the “Tibetan Diaspora” with the counterpart Jé, Mé monasteries, with the Ngakpa college counterpart also added recently. The Sera-India monk community of the Bylakuppe Monastery, has gone global with their missionary activity by establishing “dharma centres” in many parts the world, thus removing the cultural isolation of pre-1959 years in Tibet.

The Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Tibet was founded in 1447 by and is the main seat of the Kunziq Panchen Rinpoche Lineage. After 1959, the monastery was re- established in South India in the Tibetan Settlement of Bylakuppe, Karnataka.                                                      The construction of the monastery was completed in 1972. At that time, the number of monks was quite small. Since then the various activities of the monastery have expanded and flourished. Because new monks have entered, year by year, the number of monks has increased so that now the shrine room is no longer large enough to accommodate all of them, and urgently needs to be expanded.                                                     Currently, there are over three hundred monks in the monastery, with an average of 25 arriving each year. The Dalai Lama Trust has been helping fund the construction of a new building since its conception in 2010. The building will include a prayer hall, office and receptions, accommodation for guests, science classrooms, kitchen and living areas for important visiting lamas. It is important to point out that the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery faces several difficulties. While other monasteries-in-exile have expanded and developed under the guidance of their senior or head lamas in exile, the Tashi lhunpo Monastery has been facing great difficulties without the leadership of 11th Panchen Lama.        In May 1995 His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama recognized the six year old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as His Holiness the 11^th Panchen Lama, who was immediately kidnapped and imprisoned by the Chinese authorities, who appointed another boy in his place. Since his disappearance in 1995, there has been no word of the whereabouts of the Pachen Lama, and there is growing concern over whether the young Panchen lama is alive or not.                                                               In spite of the absence of their leader, the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery continues to provide a very high level of education for monks of all ages, and promotes and preserves Tibetan Buddhism under such trying times. The monks in this monastery in addition to their studies also go to regular school and study English, Science, Mathematics, Social Studies and Tibetan.

It is located in Bylakuppe, Karnataka state. Namdroling Monastery was established by his Holiness Pema Norbu Rinpochee shortly after he came to India from Tibet. He came with only 300 rupees in his hand and with just a handful of monks; he laid the foundation stone of the three-storied main temple that then covered an area of 80 square feet. His Holiness the Dalai Lama consecrated the spot and bequeathed the name “Namdroling Monastery.” Today the monastery is home to nearly 5000 monks and nuns, renowned as a center for the pure upholding of the teachings of the Buddha. The Golden Temple complex is huge and it houses 40 feet high gilded images of Guru Padmasambhava (also known as Guru Rinpoche), Buddha Sakyamuni and Amitayus. The temple tower is highly ornate. The outer walls flanking the doorway are decorated with huge colorful murals. The doors, red in color, have huge gold knockers and a thick plaited rope with tassels hanging from it. The walls are adorned with colourful paintings depicting gods and demons from Tibetan Buddhist mythology.





The monastery not only attracts large number of young Tibetans seeking enlightenment and education, but also draws large number of tourists from all over India and abroad. Watching hundreds of Buddhist monks doing religious rituals and offering prayers loudly is an exciting sight.





This place is a calm and majestic sight, surrounded by its landscaped gardens. The town is a delight to visit during festivals such as the Tibetan New Year (Losar), which is celebrated with much fervor at the monastery. It is celebrated in February / March over a period of fifteen days. During that time, the monastery hosts traditional colourful lama dances and huge thangkas, a Tibetan silk painting with embroidery depicts Buddhist deity.





The Golden Temple also called Namdroling Monastery stands beautifully amidst the scenic landscapes, emanating peacefulness and calmness. The monastery is popularly known as Golden temple owing to the golden paintings crafted on the monastery. This monastery or golden temple was established in the year of 1963, by His Holiness Pema Norbu Rinpoche shortly after his exit from Tibet in 1959 as the second seat of the Palyul Monastery which is one of the six great Tibet Nyingma Mother monasteries.





The full name of the Namdroling Monastery is Thegchog Namdrol Shedrub Dargyeling. Initially spread over an area of 80 sq. feet, this temple was constructed of the bamboo from the forest which was donated by the Indian Government to the Tibetan exiles.





Golden Temple emanates peacefulness amid the noisy streets and crowd of tourists. The temple houses three captivating golden statues, namely of Buddha, Padmasambhava, and Amitayus. Each statue is about the height of 40 feet. Every part of the temple depicts beautiful designs. It is said to be the largest teaching centre Nyingmapa which is a prime a lineage of Tibetan Buddhism.





Its walls have been decorated with intricate paintings. These colourful paintings illustrate stories of God and demons from Tibetan Buddhist mythology. The altar of the temple is filled with flowers, candles and incense sticks. You can even spot small birds flying freely around the temple complex. What makes Golden temple even more mesmerising is the captivating landscapes around it.





Once you are inside the temple, try to keep silence as it is one of the requisites to remain in holy complex. Usually devotees seek blessings by lighting the incense sticks after which they sit on carpet to imbibe the piousness and spirituality radiating at this place.





If interested then you can capture the incomparable beauty of this temple also as photography is allowed even inside the temple. For shopping lovers also there is something to interest them. There are shopping centers near the temple, offering an extensive range of Tibetan items such as statues, carpets, traditional costumes and exquisite jewelleries, etc.

Sera Mey monastery is one of the the greatest seats of learning within the geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism. Sera Mey monastery was founded by Khunkyen Jangchup Bhumpa, also known as Jangchup Oser(1377-1443), a student of the great of a Je Tsongkhapa. It was establish in the year 1421 in the Tibetan Capital Lhasa, at the base of the mountain that looked like a sleeping elephant.During the 1959 revolt in Lhasa, Sera Mey monastery suffered severe damage, with its colleges destroyed and hundreds of monk killed. After that Dalai Lama took asylum in India, many of the monks of who survived the attack moved to Bylakuppe, Mysore.





Since the Tibetan exile of 1950, under the direction and utmost care of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Sera Mey Monastery has been re-established in Bylakuppe in 1969, South India and managed to restore and preserve its traditions and studies producing many scholars and abbots flourishing the Dharma in all directions. It is one of the most famous of all the debating monasteries, the monks developed the habit of debating on various philosophical issues.





Today there are more than 3000 monks living in monastery, India and this community has also spread its missionary activities to several countries by establishing Dharma centers, propagating knowledge of Buddhism. it is a place of profound study on Buddhist philosophy, modern education as science added. Sera Mey monastery will give you the sense of calm and compassion with perfect climate. The best time to visit Sera Mey monastery is February -April, May – November and Opening hours is 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Sera Mey monastery whole heartily welcomes people from outside.

Bylakuppe  otherwise known as Mini Tibet is located to the west of Mysore district in Indian state of Karnataka. Well today there are several Tibetan settlements established by Lugsum Samdupling in 1961 and Dickyi Larsoe in 1969. Bylakuppe is situated on the state highway and it is well connected to most of the major cities in South-India. Tibetan settlements in Bylakuppe come in second largest Tibetan settlement in the world outside Tibet after Dharmashala.

Today, an estimated 70,000 Tibetans live in the settlements under different camps.These camps were established on the land leased by the Karnataka state government to accommodate some of the Tibetans expatriates who came to resettle in India after 1959.

In Bylakuppe Tibetan settlement’s consists of a large number of agricultural areas, colonies are very close to each other, and has number of monasteries and temples in all the major Tibetan Buddhist traditions. The large educational monastic institution are Sera monastery, the smaller Tashi Lhunpo monastery both comes under Gelug tradition and Namdroling Monastery and nunnery comes under Nyingma tradition.

Bylakuppe is very beautiful and peaceful place.Weather is always pleasant through out the year. Newcomers are always welcome to Byalakuppe to explore different traditions and cultures of Tibetan.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton