You must be in good general health, both physically and mentally, to attend this course.
If you have been feeling unwell, please consult a medical professional before you arrive at Tushita, particularly if you have been having stomach problems or have been experiencing flu-like symptoms. Specifically, if you have been suffering from diarrhoea, please have a stool test done so that you can get an accurate diagnosis (we discourage self-diagnosis, such conditions often have the same symptoms but require different medication) and begin treatment before the course begins. Otherwise your condition may linger and affect your general health, ability to participate fully in the course and may endanger the health of others at the centre. For this reason, we will ask you not join the course if you are feeling unwell but have not yet consulted a doctor about it.

Meditation involves observing the mind with greater focus than in everyday life, and our Introduction to Buddhism courses present psychological ideas which people may find challenging. Our courses provide tools to help students to process these challenges themselves, but we are not psychologists/counselors, and we have large courses so cannot provide individual counselling. This course / practicing meditation should not be considered as a substitute for professional counselling or prescribed medication..

So, we’re not doctors, but we can offer some general, practical advice based on our experience of living in India:

• Read the health section of your travel guidebook. All the major guidebooks have extensive sections on health concerns, often containing much more information than the average traveller would ever need to know! Lonely Planet also publishes a separate, very handy and inexpensive travel health guidebook.
• Travel Insurance is of course advisable: Medical care is very cheap in India, but you’ll need insurance to cover emergencies / repatriation etc.
• For those of you who like to be really prepared, consider carrying  a small medical kit (see your guidebook for tips on what to include).

While bottled water is available in India, the trash heap of non-recycled plastic bottles left by travellers is reaching unbelievable heights. We have a professional water filtration unit in our Dining Room and we strongly encourage you to bring your own water bottle and use this free filtered water, rather than buy more plastic bottles.

You would also be a very smart traveller if you purify your own water; boiling your drinking water first is an excellent means of purification, so travelling with a small kettle or heating coil is a great idea (good for tea on the go too!).

If you’re only in Asia for a short time, water purification tablets are an option (these are generally not recommended for use over long periods of time), while for longer trips, consider bringing your own water purifier with you, an example being the “Steripen”. While these can be expensive, they are a good long-term investment. Just think, you won’t have to constantly spend rupee after rupee on bottled water, you’ll have the peace of mind of knowing that you can always have safe water wherever you are, and most importantly, you won’t be contributing to the ever-increasing pollution of Asia’s environment!.

To the best of our knowledge, there have never been any instances of Malaria in this area.

Mosquitoes have never been able to survive above 2000 metres (around 7000 ft), and since Tushita is almost that high, we rarely have mosquitoes here. However, ecologically sensitive areas such as this (the Himalayan foothills) are experiencing unprecedented effects of climate change, and in the last couple of years we have started to find more mosquitoes here during Monsoon season (July to September). They are still absent most of the year, are still few in number even when they are around (no need for a mosquito net, for example), and there is still no problem with Malaria here. However, you may want to bring some light mosquito repellent with you during Monsoon.

We strongly discourage use of the anti-malaria medication Larium (Mefloquine). Among the common side effects of listed by the Center for Disease Control are: “anxiety, vivid dreams, and visual disturbances. Mefloquine has rarely been reported to cause serious side effects, such as seizures, depression, and psychosis.” It is our experience at Tushita that meditating while taking Larium may increase the likelihood and/or severity of these side effects and therefore we discourage students from taking Larium while meditating or participating in our courses.

You’ll be able to find almost everything you need in India. Basic first aid supplies and medications such as plasters (Band-aids), paracetamol (tylenol), dispirin (aspirin), oral rehydration solutions, and antibiotics are readily available at local pharmacies.

If you take prescription medicines, you should bring more than enough to last through your trip and a copy of your prescription. If you are planning a long trip to Asia, you may want to consider bringing multi-vitamin supplements with you, as maintaining proper nutrition on the road can be quite challenging!

If you wear glasses, you may want to bring an extra pair or at least carry your prescription with you as replacements can be made very cheaply in India.

Personal toiletries such as shampoo (with and without conditioner), soap, toothpaste toothbrushes, toilet paper, and laundry detergent are readily available and quite cheap throughout India. Deodorant is easy to get in Dharamsala but harder to find elsewhere, although many westerners feel that the efficacy of deodorant bought here is not so good.

Sanitary pads and tampons are available here, but they are quite expensive and sometimes of inferior quality to Western versions so you may want to bring supplies of these items with you. We can very, very highly recommend re-usable menstrual care options such the Mooncup, Lunette or Divacup. Our eco-friendly female volunteers say “an invaluable addition to any female traveller’s backpack! It took a bit of getting used to, but I wouldn’t use anything else now”. The problem of pollution caused by sanitary protection is so much more evident here, where toilet paper etc is dumped down hillsides or burnt in the open. Do yourself a favour, ladies – save money, save the planet!.

But if something does go wrong…

We’d like to reassure you that medical care is available here in Dharamsala and is extremely inexpensive by Western standards. The closest hospital is called Delek Hospital, which offers basic Western (allopathic) medical care administered by Tibetan doctors (and by volunteer Western doctors when available). The hospital has a laboratory which can do stool and blood tests, a pharmacy, an eye clinic, a dental clinic, an in-patient ward, and even a delivery room!

More serious cases would be passed to the Government Medical College in Kangra, a town about an hour away and in 2011 a new private hospital for more specialist cases opened in Kangra, the Fortis Hospital.

While having surgery here in Dharamsala is not generally recommended, there are good surgical facilities available in Chandigarh and Delhi. There are also local doctors and pharmacies offering Tibetan, Auyrvedic, and Homeopathic medicine.

India is an amazing country and most Indian people are very hospitable and helpful. The vast majority of travellers have no safety problems while travelling in India. Be careful and apply the same common sense in India that you would use at home; watch your bags and secure your room when going out. Always carry your passport and valuables in a money belt on your body and inside your clothing. Be especially watchful in airports, train stations and on public transport. But also relax and enjoy!

Crime and violence in McLeod Ganj and Dharamsala are relatively rare. However, there have been occasional robberies (sadly these are often perpetrated by fellow travellers) so watch your bags and secure your room.

For more information on personal safety in India, read the safety section of your guidebook and talk to other travellers about their experiences and advice. You may also find online travel sites such as the the India Mike website useful in obtaining information, and even in organising travel partners (“India Travel Partners” forum), obviously using discretion & wisdom about who you choose to travel with!

There have been a number of highly publicised acts of violence against women in India in the last few years, including against foreign tourists, and many women are justifiably concerned about travelling to India, especially alone. Personal safety is an issue that every woman should be aware of, but it would be a great pity to allow these concerns to deter a trip to this amazing country.

India has a population of over one billion people, and by percentage these cases are rare. Increased publicity of such incidents could also be seen as a positive step in women’s safety – it’s not necessarily that more incidents are happening, but that more are being reported to the police, and considered newsworthy. The women of Tushita, several of us long-term solo travellers, have never been the subject of sexual violence in India and it’s hard for us to balance our personal experience with the climate of heightened tension in relation to female safety.

But while we very much hope that you won’t let these incidents stop you from experiencing Incredible India, it of course only sensible for women to be informed and prepared.

There have been reports of a small number of violent acts against women in this area, so we do encourage women to be vigilant and not to walk alone in isolated areas at night. This may be especially important to remember when choosing the location of your guesthouse. Walking around the town of McLeod Ganj itself is usually quite safe, even in the evening. Delhi seems to be a place of more concern recently and we recommend that all female travellers follow some basic safety guidelines when going through big cities. There are a number of websites that feature safety tips for women in India – for example, this page on the Lonely Planet site has good advice.

For more information on personal safety in India, read the safety section of your guidebook and talk to other travellers about their experiences and advice. You may also find online travel sites such as the the India Mike website useful in obtaining information, and even in organising travel partners (“India Travel Partners” forum), obviously using discretion & wisdom about who you choose to travel with!

There are 2 main types of monkeys in this area, the Rhesus Macaque and the Gray Langur. You’ll be very fortunate to see the Langurs, as they live further up the mountain and only tend to only come down a few times a year. They are also quite timid and gentle, despite their large size.

The Rhesus monkeys are a very different story however. You are guaranteed to see them while you’re at Tushita, and while they ARE very cute and entertaining (and precious sentient beings…), they can also be aggressive (between themselves and against humans) and have caused a lot of damage to property here.

The numbers of rhesus monkeys have risen in the last decade and they are now considered to be a pest across much of Northern India. The main reason that numbers are growing, and that the monkeys are becoming more intrepid and aggressive is quite simple: it’s because of access to food, particularly as as urbanization has encroached on their original habitat.

Travellers unfamiliar with the problematic side of the monkeys often find them endearing (which they are!) and an automatic response is to get closer to them, and to offer them food. Both of these are mistakes.

Monkeys can be dangerous (sharp claws and teeth) and they can carry diseases (rabies, among others). Providing them with food disrupts their natural feeding patterns and also encourages them to consider people and specific places as good food sources. This means that they will choose to hang out in that place more than anywhere else nearby, and teaches them to see humans as food-providing-units to be utilized, whether you have food or not, or freely offer it or not. It is common for monkeys to break into rooms in search of food, trashing everything as they go, and even to steal food directly from your hand or plate.

It is uncommon for a monkey to attack humans, but it does happen here occasionally, whether the monkey felt vulnerable and intentionally wished to harm, or in the process of trying to obtain food.

Animal pests present a big dilemma for Buddhist centres – we have taken a vow to cherish all life and ask all our guests and visitors to do the same by not harming any living being. However, we have to be practical and also take care of our human friends! So, our main approach is in prevention, and we ask everyone to help us by abiding by the following…

Monkey guidelines and tips for your stay at Tushita:

• NEVER intentionally feed the monkeys.
• Keep doors and windows or screens closed and locked at all times. Monkeys love to get in and rip things apart looking for food (and sometimes just fun!).
• Do not keep food in your room or in a bag you keep with you.
• Be vigilant when eating outdoors. Even if you aren’t offering them anything, monkeys see any food as an open invitation. We try to have a member of staff patrol the outside eating areas at meal times and we have dogs to help chase the monkeys away – call on them for help if needed, but keep an eye out at all times anyway.

When you are near a monkey:

• DO NOT make eye contact. Also, try not to smile or otherwise bare your teeth. Monkeys find these to be extremely threatening gestures.
• If the monkey is calm, then you should also stay calm. You’ll see the locals walk past large groups of them with no concern whatsoever. The monkeys seem to sense your agitation and respond to that. Some people find it helpful to silently say the mantra “Om Mani Padme Hum” to themselves as they walk past monkeys. This helps the individual to stay calm, and to wish all happiness for the monkeys.
• If the monkey is approaching you from a distance and is clearly looking for food, make noise – a loud coughing/calling noise seems to work, and throw stones in its general direction. The purpose isn’t to hurt the monkey, but to show that you are not vulnerable, and to deter it.
• If the monkey is being aggressive near you, best is to wait until it passes by or if it is approaching you, to back off and try to get away from it.  Call on our dogs or others for help.

In the unlikely event that you are scratched or bitten by a monkey:

• Wash the wound with warm water and a disinfectant soap immediately. You’ll find both in our dishwashing area. Wash it thoroughly for several minutes.
• Let a member of staff know about the incident.
• Treat the wound with a strong disinfectant, like iodine. We have some in our first aid kit in our reception office.
• Depending on the extent of the scratch or bite, it is likely to be advisable to have rabies innoculations. These are easily available at local hospitals, but can be expensive and very inconvenient, as you have to have a series of injections at regular intervals over the following months.

We don’t mean to alarm you, please don’t let our primate pals deter you from enjoying your time here! Most students find the monkeys – and the mindfulness they impose upon you – an integral part of the Tushita experience. By following these guidelines, we’re sure you’ll have no problems.

India is a relatively peaceful country with few travel prohibitions, but to be sure please contact your national embassy for their latest advice on travel in India.