McLeodganj, the upper town linked by a 10 km steep and winding road, has the residence and headquarters of the Dalai Lama. The golden roof of Dip Thekchen Choeling Monastery can be seen glinting amongst tall pine forests. The Library has an exhaustive collection of books, manuscripts, and archival photographs on Tibet with important original sets of manuscripts, sacred texts and prayer scrolls. The first floor houses a museum with Buddhist images, bronze figures and a collection of mandalas, including the only wooden mandala outside Tibet. Just across is the Astro Medical Institute offering Tibetan medicinal cures.

The main Buddhist temple or Tsuglagkhang (cathedral) is a five-minute walk from the main bazaar. Built on the lines of the one in Lhasa, the temple is surrounded by red and gold prayer wheels. Every afternoon, monks from the Namgyal monastries conduct debates on theological issues in the courtyard.

The Norbulingka Institute teaches various skills including wood and metalcraft, silk weaving and thangka paintings. A small museum has an fascinating display of traditional dolls

Church of St. John in the Wilderness: The one remaining vestige of the British presence here, this chapel, built in 1860 is worth a visit for its beautiful stained glass windows. Aeverely damaged in a major earthquake in 1905, it was rebuilt and still sports old bells cast in London, installed in 1915. The grave of Lord Elgin, ex-Viceroy of India is here.