Things to do in Bir
Half the people in Bir on any given day had a flight cancelled. Here is what the good half of that day looks like.
Updated
Palpung Sherabling Monastery
About twelve kilometres away at Keori, through pine forest, and the most impressive building in the area by a wide margin. It is a working monastery and a major seat of the Karma Kagyu lineage, not a viewpoint — dress modestly, keep quiet inside, and give yourself a couple of hours. Go early; the light in the main hall in the morning is the reason to.
Deer Park Institute
In Chougan, a few minutes from the landing ground. A centre for the study of classical Indian philosophy, with courses, talks and a library, and a very good, very quiet café. Anyone can walk in. If you are in Bir for more than a few days, look at what's on while you're here.
The Bir Tibetan Colony
Founded in the early 1960s and the reason Chougan looks the way it does. Monasteries, handicraft workshops, prayer flags along the road, and Tibetan food that is properly Tibetan rather than a menu translation. Walk it slowly in the late afternoon.
Baijnath Temple
Twelve kilometres away, a thirteenth-century stone Shiva temple, still in daily use and set against the Dhauladhar. Worth the half-hour each way, and it pairs naturally with Sherabling as one outing.
Walks, tea and water
- The tea gardens around Palampur, an hour away, and the road there is half the pleasure.
- Bir's own short forest walks — the trails towards Gunehr and Upper Bir are easy and mostly empty.
- Waterfalls in and around Bir after the monsoon, when there is actually water in them.
- The café trail through Chougan: pizza, filter coffee, banana bread, and the best people-watching in the Kangra valley.
A day that works when the flight is cancelled
Sherabling in the morning, lunch in the Tibetan Colony, an hour at Deer Park, and the terrace at six when the light goes gold on the hills. You will not feel short-changed.
