Majnu-ka-Tilla: Delhi's Tibetan quarter

The colony is a tight knot of lanes between the main road and the river, small enough that there is no wrong way in. Shops sell incense, singing bowls and wool, and the lanes keep folding back towards the courtyard with the Buddhist temple, where monks in maroon robes cross between the shops, sometimes with a cup of bubble tea in hand.

Eat in one of the family-run kitchens: momos (steamed dumplings), thukpa (noodle soup) and shapale (fried stuffed bread). Kunga Cafe is the address the guide's momo page starts with. Newer arrivals, Korean cafes and cosmetics, draw young Delhi here too.

Finish at the temple courtyard as the lights come on.

The name means "Majnu's hillock". By Sikh tradition, a Sufi mystic called Abdulla, nicknamed Majnu ("lost in love"), ferried people across the Yamuna here for free, and met Guru Nanak here in 1505. In 1783 the Sikh general Baghel Singh raised the Majnu ka Tilla Gurudwara, across the main road, to mark the Guru's stay.

The Tibetan chapter began after the uprising of 1959. In 1960 the Government of India allotted land on the riverbank to the refugees, and more families arrived after 1962. Officially it is New Aruna Nagar, also known as Samyeling or Little Tibet.

Afternoon into early evening is the rhythm of the place: the kitchens are busy, the lanes are lit at dusk, and after 9 pm the colony is already asleep.

The comfortable months are October and February to March; in May and June come late in the day, and from November to January check the smog first. The colony sits on the Yamuna floodplain and has been flooded in heavy monsoons (2010 and 2013), so after days of hard rain check the news first.

On Buddha Purnima (20 May 2027) the monastery here keeps the day among prayer wheels and incense; the Buddha Jayanti page pairs it with the Bodhi tree on the Ridge.

Majnu-ka-Tilla is far from everything else on the city's map. The closest of the other areas is the Old City: from Vidhan Sabha, the station about 1.5 km away, the Yellow Line runs south to Chandni Chowk. The two pair well for the contrast.

If momos are the point and the north is too far, the state food stalls at Dilli Haat serve Sikkimese momos in South Delhi. For Tibetan curios in the centre, the Tibetan row on Janpath is a walk from Connaught Place.

As a base the colony suits students and budget long stays, but it is far from the central sights. For a first visit Connaught Place or Paharganj are more practical; the trade-offs are on where to stay in Delhi.