The perilous journey from Tibet into India: the general route is marked by the light blue line connecting Lhasa, Tibet with Dharamsala, India.
Lhasa: Population: about 110,000; Elevation: 12,002 ft (3,658 m) above Sea Level. Lhasa is the capital of Tibet. It is located on the northern bank of the Kyi Zhu (Kyi Chu) River, a tributary of the upper Brahmaputra River. A major center of Tibetan Buddhism (the name Lhasa means "holy land" in Tibetan), the city is dominated by the Potala Palace, former residence of the Dalai Lama (rebuilt in the 17th century), on the Potala Hill. Other landmarks include the Jokhang (Great Cathedral), the Sera, Ganden, and Drepung monasteries, and the Norbulingka (the former summer palace of the Dalai Lama). The recorded history of Lhasa dates back to the introduction of Buddhism in the 7th century, although settlement may have taken place as early as the 5th century. A trade center on the Silk Road between India and China, Lhasa became the capital of Tibet as early as the 9th century. Today, Lhasa remains the most populated Tibetan city. The Barkor marketplace continues to sell merchants goods and Lhasa is the preferred point of departure for Tibetans undertaking the journey into exile.
Himalayas: The Himalayas are the highest mountain range in the world and include several of the highest peaks; Mount Everest (Tibetan: Chomolungma), at 8,872 m (29,108 ft) above sea level, is the highest mountain in the world. The range is commonly defined as the high mountain region bracketed between the bends of the Indus River (on the west) and the Brahmaputra River (on the east) at the point where those streams descend to the plains. According to this definition, the range is about 2,500 km (1,550 mi.) long and 200-400 km (125-250 mi.) wide and includes most of Nepal and Bhutan, the southern part of Tibet, and extreme northern India. Beyond the Indus to the northwest, the mountains are generally known as the Trans-Himalayas, up to their junction with the Hindu Kush in the western part of the Karakoram Range, about 275 km (170 mi.) due north of Srinagar. From this jumbled mass of converging ranges, known as the Pamir Knot, the Himalayas radiate in a southeasterly crescent, rising from the north Indian plain and forming the southern escarpment of the Tibetan plateau.
The Himalayas were formed as a result of a violent and relatively recent crumpling of the Earth's crust. The frequent earthquakes, sometimes of great violence, that occur along the mountain front, especially in Assam, indicate that this process is continuing.
The climate of the Himalayas themselves varies fundamentally with altitude. At elevations above 15,000 ft (4,600 m)--a zone that includes most of the High Himalayas--the temperature rarely rises above freezing even in summer, but in the valleys of both the Lesser and the Outer Himalayas, summer temperatures may reach or even exceed 100 F (38 C). Mean winter temperatures at the principal hill stations (Simla, Dehra Dun, Mussoorie, and Naini Tal), at an average height of about 7,000 ft (2,100 m), are about 45º F (7º C), and mean summer temperatures are about 65º F (18º C).
From December through March, precipitation is in the form of snow, and the snow cover is permanent above about 16,000 ft (4,900 m) throughout the High Himalayas.
Human settlement is restricted to the valleys, although a few hill stations are used as summer resorts on ridges in the Outer Himalayas--all well below 3,000 m (10,000 ft). The High Himalayas are devoid of permanent settlements and the Lesser Himalayas nearly so.
Bodh Gaya: Located in the eastern segment of North India, Bodh Gaya maintains a population density of approximately 128 persons per square mile (50 per kilometer2) and a population of about 40,000. Average January temperatures range from 50º to 68º F (10º to 20º C). Bodh Gaya is an important historical city since it is the site of the enlightenment of the first Buddha Shakyamuni. It is also the site of annual week-long Buddhist teachings given by the Dalai Lama.
Delhi: Greater Delhi has an area of 126 mi2 (326 km2), population of about 8,375,188 persons and a density of upwards of 512 persons per square mile (200 persons per kilometer2). Average temperatures for January are approximately 58º F (14º C). Rainfall, concentrated in the late summer, averages 635 mm (25 in) annually. Though very few Tibetans settle in Delhi, scores pass through the old city as they make their ways to Dharamsala.
Dharamsala: Predominantly tropical grassland and desert, Dharamsala is the home of the Tibetan Government in Exile and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. With average January temperatures that range from 50º to 68ºF (10º to 20ºC), the city if one of the most oft-visited by Tibetan refugees seeking an audience with the Dalai Lama. Dharamsala, located in the northwest portion of India, is the home of many Tibetan schools managed by the Central Tibetan Schools Administration including the School of Dialectics, the Medical Center, and the Institute of Performing Arts. The Nursery for Tibetan Refugee Children, incepted in 1960 and administered by the Dalai Lama's sister, is now called the Tibetan Children's Village. The TCV is responsible for issuing both medical treatment and providing educational facilities to refugee children.
Dehra Dun: Located at the northernmost terminus of the Indian railway at the immediate foothills of the Himalayas, Dehra Dun's average January temperatures range from 14º to 50º F (-10º to 10º C). Formerly the site of a British Prisoner Of War camp during World War II, Dehra Dun is now home of three Tibetan monasteries and has a moderately large Tibetan community. Several Tibetan schools allow refugee children to obtain vocational academic educations.
Darjeeling: Population about 75,000 with a density of about 128 persons per square mile (50 persons per square kilometer) mainly tropical grassland and savannah with average January temperatures of 50º to 68º F (10º to 20º C) and July temps of 68º to 86º F (20º to 30º C). Darjeeling is a city in West Bengal state, India. With a primarily Nepalese population, it lies at an altitude of 2,100 m (7,000 ft) in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas, close to the borders of Nepal and the state of Sikkim. In the early 1960's the Dalai Lama, with the assistance of Jewarhalal Nehru, opened a residential Tibetan school in Darjeeling. The schools were part of the Tibetan Schools Society (which later became the Central Tibetan Schools Administration), designed to provide refugee children schooling in Tibetan language and other important subjects. These schools, which now enroll several thousand students, saved many refugee children from joining road-gangs and engaging in delinquency. Darjeeling is a commercial center for the tea (for which it is famous), grains, fruits, and vegetables grown in the surrounding region. In 1988, after several years of unrest, the Darjeeling area was granted limited local autonomy.
Sikkim: Size: 2,740 mi2 ( 7,096 km2); Temperature: Average January temperatures between 14º and 50º F (-10º and 10ºC). Average July temps range from 50º to 68º F (10º to 20º C). Located in south central Asia in the southeastern Himalayas, Sikkim is a former independent nation that is now a state of India. Population is 444,000 (1994 estimate). The capital is Gangtok, Sikkim's only town, in the southeastern quarter of the state. Sikkim itself is divided by a series of high ridges and deep valleys; elevations range from more than 6,000 m (19,700 ft) above sea level to 210 m (690 ft) in the valleys in the south. Where elevations exceed 4,900 m (16,100 ft), the land is permanently covered with ice and snow. Rainfall is mainly monsoonal and heavy. Gangtok averages more than 3,560 mm (140 in) of precipitation annually. At elevations below 1,520 m (5,000 ft), vegetation is lush and subtropical. Above 3,650 m (12,000 ft), alpine vegetation dominates. More than half of the population of Sikkim is Nepalese; significant numbers of Bhutias and Lepchas constitute most of the remaining half. Tibetan Buddhism is the state religion, but Hinduism is professed by the majority of the population. The ruling family is of Tibetan origin, and Sikkim was a dependency of Tibet until the British government of India established its protectorate in 1890, following the expulsion of the Tibetans in 1888. A 1950 treaty made Sikkim a protectorate of independent India. Nominal independence ended in 1975 when voters decided to merge their country with India, and Sikkim was incorporated as India's 22d state.
Bhutan is an independent, landlocked kingdom located in Asia on the southern flanks of the eastern Himalayas. The people are mainly of Tibetan origin, and the name Bhutan is derived from the Indian word Bhotanta, meaning "the edge of Tibet." Inner Himalayas, which range in elevation between about 1,500 and 3,000 m (5,000 and 10,000 ft). The Inner Himalayas in Bhutan are dissected by a series of fertile north-south valleys where most of the population is concentrated. North of the Inner Himalayas are the Greater Himalayas, which occupy about one-third of Bhutan; they have an average elevation of more than 3,000 m and reach a high point on the Tibetan border of 7,554 m (24,784 ft). The dominant ethnic group in Bhutan are the Bhutia, who constitute about 60% of the population and refer to themselves as the Drukpas ("dragon people"). The Bhutia people are related in language, religion, and customs to the people of Tibet and inhabit the middle reaches of the main north-south valleys in central Bhutan. n The Bhutanese kingdom now trades with India and Nepal, since the Tibetan border was closed in 1959.
Ladakh: Located in the northernmost region of Western India, Ladakh's Leh village is home to a great number of Tibetan refugees. Average January temperatures normally fall below 14º F (-10º C). Landscape is primarily grassland. Tibetan-run institutions in the area include a school dedicated to Buddhist Philosophy. There were approximately 4,000 Tibetans living in Ladakh c. 1984; that number has increased a bit, as expected. Primarily, jobs in Ladakh are low-paying, but offer many refugees the opportunity to utilize vocational or academic training they received at a Tibetan-run school. Ladakh remains one of the more under-privileged refugee communities in India.
Bangladesh: Area is 55,126 mi2 (142,776 km2). Bangladesh is one of the world's most densely populated and fastest-growing countries. The Chittagong Hills in eastern and southeastern Bangladesh include the highest and most rugged parts of the nation, with elevations rising to more than 1,200 m (3,937 ft) above sea level. Bangladesh has a tropical monsoon-type climate, with a hot and rainy summer and a pronounced dry season in the cooler months. January temperatures hover around 78º F (26º C). Bangladesh has no specified relationship with Tibet or Tibetan refugees, though many Bangladeshis maintain that Bangladesh has a strong relationship with China.
