Mainpat–Phendeling Tibetan Settlement: About
Mainpat (Phendeling/Phendeyling) in Surguja, Chhattisgarh, is one of India’s most distinctive Tibetan settlements. It combines Tibetan Buddhist culture, refugee history, agriculture, handicrafts and a forested highland landscape.
The Government of India established the settlement in 1962 to rehabilitate Tibetan refugees who had arrived in India after the events of 1959. The original settlement covered about 3,000 acres and developed into seven camps spread across roughly 25 km. The Central Tibetan Relief Committee currently describes it as having three monasteries.
Why Mainpat is called “Mini Tibet”
As Tibetan families established homes, schools, religious institutions, agricultural fields and businesses, the landscape acquired a distinctly Tibetan character. Visitors encounter:
🏔️ Tibetan settlement on a forested plateau
🛕 Buddhist monasteries
🙏 Prayer flags, prayer wheels and Buddhist imagery
🧘 Tibetan monks and religious practices
🥟 Tibetan food such as momos and thukpa
🧶 Tibetan carpets, woollens and handicrafts
🥔 Potato and other highland agriculture
🏡 Tibetan homes and community life
The Chhattisgarh government itself highlights Tibetan culture and the seven Tibetan camps as an important feature of Mainpat.
Main monastery
Thakpo/Dhakpo Shedupling Monastery is the best-known monastery in Mainpat. It is associated with the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and was established in 1970. It contains Tibetan Buddhist art and religious objects, including thangkas and murals.
There are references to three monasteries within the settlement, although tourist websites do not consistently provide the names of all three. The Central Tibetan Relief Committee confirms the figure of three monasteries.
More than just a monastery visit
For tourism, Mainpat is particularly interesting because the Tibetan settlement is a living cultural landscape rather than simply a monument.
