Chabad houses on the backpacker trail, India to Bolivia
Anyone who has done the big post-army trip knows the moment: after two weeks of rice and lentils you walk into a Chabad house and smell schnitzel. The Chabad houses along the route are far more than restaurants - they are where you spend Shabbat and holidays, get advice on the next trek, and sometimes just talk in your own language. Here are the main houses in route order, with what we checked: who runs them, what is on site and what to arrange ahead. Each has a page on the site with the address, contact links and stays within walking distance.
Dharamkot, India - Shabbat with hundreds of travellers in the Himalayas
In the small village above McLeod Ganj is one of the oldest Chabad houses on the route - Rabbi Dror and Michal Shaul opened it in 2000, and it has a second place in nearby Bhagsu. There is a kosher restaurant, lodging, and Shabbat meals where hundreds of travellers sit down together. By Chabad's count, about 20,000 travellers pass through each year. Practical tip: the road from the village down to McLeod Ganj is steep. For a calm Shabbat, sleep in the village itself, within walking distance.
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Goa (Palolem) - a Chabad house and kosher restaurant in season
The Chabad house in Palolem serves about 50,000 Jewish travellers a year, with prayers, Shabbat and holiday meals and a Glatt kosher restaurant. It runs in season, roughly October to April, and closes for the monsoon - so check it is open on your dates.
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Kathmandu, Nepal - the world's biggest Seder
The Chabad house in Thamel, opened in 2000 by Rabbi Chezky and Chani Lifshitz, may be the most famous on the Asian trail - up to 2,000 people come for the Seder. It is open to travellers year-round and also runs seasonal locations in Pokhara and Manang, handy for Annapurna treks.
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Bangkok - Ohr Menachem by Khao San
A five-storey building near Khao San Road, run by Rabbi Nechemia and Nechami Wilhelm, with an 800-person hall and a 150-seat synagogue. Hundreds of backpackers come on Shabbat, and the building also has a meat restaurant and a dairy cafe - a good first stop for any Thailand trip.
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Pai and Chiang Mai - northern Thailand
In the centre of Pai, Rabbi Mendy and Chani Zaiants run a Chabad house with a meat restaurant and a new mikveh; in Chiang Mai, by the Night Bazaar on Changklan Road, Rabbi Yossi and Chani Pikel run one with a meat restaurant and a mikveh. In both, book Shabbat meals ahead.
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Koh Phangan - deliveries across the island
Rabbi Dubi and Miri Deitsch's Chabad house offers prayers, Shabbat and holiday meals, a grocery, and a meat restaurant that delivers across the island - handy when your bungalow is far away. Here too, book Shabbat meals ahead.
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Hanoi, Vietnam - a kosher restaurant by West Lake
The Chabad house in Tay Ho runs its own kosher restaurant and delivers to different parts of the city. Ordering meals ahead is recommended - especially before heading north or out to Ha Long Bay.
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Lima, Peru - stock up before the mountains
Most travellers land in Lima and head straight for Cusco, but the Chabad house in San Isidro is worth a stop. According to its website it has a kosher store, a bakery that takes advance orders, a meat restaurant and a Cholov Yisrael dairy restaurant. Orders and hours on WhatsApp, +51 999 770 998.
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Cusco - four kosher kitchens near 'Israeli Street'
Near Procuradores Street, by the Plaza de Armas, is one of the best-known Chabad houses in South America. It runs four kosher kitchens of its own - dairy, meat, pizza and a late-night kitchen - and its Seder hosts around 1,200 people. A great base for Machu Picchu.
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La Paz, Bolivia - a daily minyan at 3,600 metres
Chabad of Bolivia, on the corner of Santa Cruz and Illampu, has been run by Rabbi Aharon Freiman since 2005. There is a minyan every day, a travellers' lounge with Wi-Fi, and Shabbat meals that draw hundreds of travellers. The kosher food in town is here too. Give yourself an easy first day to acclimatise - and the Chabad house is a good place to spend it.
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Bariloche - the gateway to Patagonia
Rabbi Boaz Klein and his family have run the Chabad house here since 2009, an anchor for the waves of Israeli backpackers heading into Patagonia. There are Shabbat meals, prayers, and useful advice before you set off on Andes treks.
View full listingStays within walking distance of Chabad in Bariloche
For a relaxed Shabbat, what matters is what's within walking distance. The map shows hotels and apartments around this exact spot.
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This is an affiliate link. If you book through it we may earn a small commission - at no extra cost to you - that helps keep the site running.Three things work at every house on the route: register for Shabbat meals a few days ahead, WhatsApp a seasonal house before you arrive, and leave a small donation when you can - these houses run on the travellers who pass through. And if you need a bed, each Chabad page on the site has a search for stays within walking distance.
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