Tourist boom threatens to swamp Indian mountain town where Dalai Lama took refuge

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. 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,” says a frustrated local taxi driver, not keen to share his name.

McLeod Ganj, a Himalayan town famed for its 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 the view of the mighty Dhauladhar mountain range overlooking the stadium, which has become a magnet for India’s sports fans.

Once monks in burgundy red robes dominated the colour palette of 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 not just for Tibetans but 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.

McLeod Ganj’s Tibetan community has been migrating out of the hill station in search of better work opportunities for several years. But now the impact of the climate crisis and overtourism is pushing others to contemplate leaving. The population has dramatically shrunk, say local people.

“This is not the quiet and peaceful McLeod Ganj any more. The only reason we are staying here is because we want to stay close to our spiritual leader Dalai Lama,” says Kunsang, owner of Cafe Hope.

The tourist season of May to July has disappeared, with visitors now coming all year round, he says. “Now people come here to party for some days and leave, rather than staying here for some length of time.”

The Dalai Lama, who turned 89 last month, has been crucial in building a new home for Tibetans in India and is a symbol of hope for the scattered diaspora, says Dr Latika Gupta at the faculty of education in the University of Delhi.

Surrounded by snow-capped mountains and cedarwood forests, the city of Dharamshala is 1,457 metres above sea level, keeping the temperature cool. The weather conditions being similar to Tibet made Dharamshala a perfect new home for the Dalai Lama, and the Tibetan refugees who followed him into exile.

But this year’s heatwaves across India have pushed up temperatures in Dharamshala, and its suburbs of McLeod Ganj and Dharamkot, regularly hitting 40C, previously a rare occurrence for the region.

“You should keep onion skin in your pocket to defend against this heat,” says Dorjee, a Tibetan man in his late 80s, playing chess in the square.

India’s capital, New Delhi, touched 49.1C on 29 May . Temperatures in states near Dharamshala such as Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab also reached close to 50C in the May heatwave, according to India Meteorological Department.

It sent middle-class and better-off Indian families to the hills and many to McLeod Ganj, a worldwide attraction since the Dalai Lama and his followers arrived in the 60s, attracting visitors including the Beatles.

“This place used to be filled with foreigners. Their visiting purpose was to study about Tibet and its culture, Buddhism, or participate in yoga or meditation retreats. This would make them stay here for many months,” says Jempa, a Tibetan man in his early 80s, who as a boy followed the Dalai Lama to India with his parents.

“I used to have international travellers who would stay for six months, a year or two years. Now that time is gone,” says Neeraj Rajput, manager of Misty Woods, a hotel in McLeod Ganj.

Local bed and breakfasts, hotels and eateries are also facing competition from the rapid increase in luxury hotel chains and homestays, according to more than half a dozen local business owners.

“Since the cricket stadium has opened up, a lot more three- and five-star properties have been built in areas that we didn’t even know existed. The entire Dharamshala is probably covered now,” adds Rajput, who has been managing Misty Woods for close to a decade.

The former visitors here, those from abroad, would not bring cars but use local taxis to get about. But domestic tourists bring their air-conditioned cars, leading to traffic jams, and less income for taxi drivers.

“There is not much difference in my earnings during tourist season or off season. In peak season, I am usually able to complete only a couple of rides and also get stuck in traffic for hours,” says another taxi driver, also requesting anonymity. “In off season, even though there are less people, I am able to make more trips, most likely with less traffic.”

Related: Heat stress: how soaring temperatures are taking their toll on migrant workers in India’s garden city

As the debate around Tibet’s freedom has faded from the global stage, many new visitors, especially from younger generations, are unaware of the links to the Dalai Lama and Tibet’s history, seeing instead an exotic place with monasteries, prayer flags and waterfalls.

The climate crisis is having its impact here. Triund, which is one of McLeod Ganj’s main water sources, dried up during summer this year, according to those who frequent the popular trekking route.

“It was completely dry up there. We didn’t even have water to wash our hands,” says Amandeep Kaur, a college professor, who took a dozen of her students on a trekking trip in June.

The monsoon season is proving more extreme too, with landslides and cloudbursts common in Himachal Pradesh state . A red alert was issued for Dharamshala’s Kangra valley on 1 August, after cloudbursts across the state, including in the capital city, Simla, left 50 people missing and five dead.

Dorjee is among those local people who blame construction work associated with tourism for exacerbating the situation. “If you keep drilling holes in the mountains, what do you think is going to happen?” he says. “I am not an engineer or an architect but my mother used to earn wages by building roads in these mountains. I have helped in building [the Dalai Lama’s] temple here. Things should be built on the mountain instead of breaking it,” he says.