India, March 11 -- The North East holds one of India's most compelling untold stories in Buddhist tourism - if only pilgrims could reach it. Every year, nearly three lakh Indian pilgrims travel to Lumbini in Nepal - to walk in the footsteps of the Buddha, to light incense, to sit in silence. They cross a border to do something India has not yet made easy to do at home. Meanwhile, a few hours' flight away, in the hills of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, ancient monasteries sit above the clouds, their prayer flags snapping in the wind, largely unseen by the world.

This is the paradox at the heart of India's Buddhist tourism story. The country that gave Buddhism to the world - where Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, deli...