Dalai Lama's mountain town feels the strain of tourist boom

SUVs and saloon cars pass slowly along McLeod Ganj's narrow one-way Jogiwara Road, blaring horns at pedestrians and scooter riders and playing loud music.

- Prasannata Patwa

The powerful vehicles soon get stuck in the traffic near Kalachakra temple, the place of worship of the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso.

"You can be stuck in this traffic easily for two hours," said a frustrated taxi driver, not keen to share his name.

McLeod Ganj, a Himalayan town famed for temples, meditation courses and ashrams, is witnessing an influx of domestic tourists seeking refuge from rising temperatures in dry and tropical states across India. Many come to enjoy cricket matches with a view of the Dhauladhar mountain range over the newly built stadium.

Once monks in burgundy red robes dominated McLeod Ganj's main market. The town was where thousands of Tibetans fled after the 1959 uprising against the Chinese in Tibet sent the Dalai Lama into exile here.

It became a refuge for foreign hippy travellers and others seeking a quiet and contemplative environment. But now vehicles and clusters of Indian tourists crowd these lanes, filming videos and clicking selfies. More than 150 new hotels have been built or opened in the past four years.