Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Centre

Darjeeling

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Established in 1959, this refugee centre includes a Tibetan Buddhist temple, workshops producing carpets, woodcarvings, wool and woollen items, plus a home for the aged, a kindergarten and a clinic. Visitors are welcome to wander through the workshops. There’s also an interesting, politically charged photographic exhibition on Tibetan history. The handicrafts are for sale in the showroom. A quick walking approach is to take the lane down beside Hotel Dolphin on The Mall and zigzag downhill about 1.2km (asking directions a few times).

You can return to the town centre via Bhutia Busty Gompa, about 700m to the southeast (asking directions again). A taxi from the town centre to the refugee centre costs around ₹250/500 one way/return.

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