Tawang Monastery

Tawang monastery, called Gaden Namgyal Lhatse, was founded in the 1680s and is the largest Buddhist monastery in India and among the largest of the Gelug school anywhere, standing on a spur at about 3,000 metres with the valley falling away below. Several hundred monks live in the complex, which is walled with residential quarters around a central assembly hall holding a gilded Buddha about 5.5 metres high and a library of manuscripts. The road in from Tezpur crosses Sela Pass at about 4,170 metres, snowbound in parts of the year, which makes the journey a substantial undertaking in itself.

History

The monastery is known in Tibetan as Gaden Namgyal Lhatse, "the divine paradise of complete victory", and the name Tawang is read as "the place chosen by a horse". It was founded in 1680-81 by Merak Lama Lodre Gyatso at the wish of the 5th Dalai Lama, who told the people of the area to give him every help and sent a ball of yarn whose length was to fix the monastery's perimeter; it belongs to the Gelug school and had a religious association with Drepung Monastery in Lhasa (Wikipedia, Tawang Monastery).

The main sights

• The assembly hall - a gilded Buddha 5.5 metres high and painted interior.
• The walled complex - monks' quarters around the central courtyard.
• The library - old manuscripts held in the monastery collection.
• Sela Pass - the 4,170-metre crossing on the road in.

When to go

April to October, when Sela Pass is reliably open; snow closes or delays it outside that and even in season it can shut for days. Losar in late winter brings ceremonies but hard travel.

What to expect

An Inner Line Permit is required for Arunachal Pradesh and foreign nationals face additional restrictions. The road from Tezpur takes two days and is rough and landslide-prone. Altitude affects visitors.

Nearby

Sela Pass lies south-east; the Bhutan border is west.

Key facts