Smart Traveller - The Dalai Lama's Doorstep

A ritual walk around the residence in India gives a glimpse into the lives of one Tibetan family living in exile

- Charlotte Wigram-evans

McLeod Ganj teeters precariously on a mountainside, its multicoloured houses stacked like playing cards as if one day, a sharp gust of wind will simply blow them away. It’s early, but already the streets are a frenzied whirl of activity — horns blaring, chai wallahs (tea sellers) hollering. It smells of incense, spices and sweat.

Youdon passes easily through the pell-mell of people, one hand holding onto her five-year-old son, Numptha, the other gesturing for me to follow. She skips over cowpats and picks her way around potholes and roadside stalls with the assurance of someone who knows these streets well. And she does. McLeod Ganj has been Youdon’s home since she ran away from Tibet 15 years ago, aged 18 — sneaking out in the middle of the night as her parents, brothers and sisters slept. She hasn’t seen them since.