Bylakuppe

Bylakuppe is a village located about 80 kilometres away from Mysore, in Southern India. It is home to the second largest Tibetan settlement in India after Dharamshala – the seat of His Holiness The Dalai Lama, and the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile. The Bylakuppe settlement which was established in 1961, is one among the 58 Tibetan settlements spread across India, Nepal, and Bhutan, which were established in the wake of Chinese occupation of Tibet.

When the first wave of refugees settled in India, the common assumption was that Tibet would be free in the not-so-distant future, and they would return to their homeland soon. However that would not be the case; 60 years later the settlement is in its third generation and the community continues to grow and thrive in their home-away-from home.