Tawang Monastery

Tawang Monastery, known in Tibetan as Galden Namgey Lhatse ('celestial paradise in a clear night'), is the largest Buddhist monastery in India and one of the most important in the Himalaya. It was founded in 1680–81 by Merak Lama Lodre Gyatso in accordance with the wishes of the Fifth Dalai Lama, and belongs to the Gelug school. Spread across a ridge at roughly 3,000 m, the complex looks like a walled town, with dozens of buildings, monks' quarters and a school housing several hundred lamas.

The centrepiece is the three-storey assembly hall (Dukhang), dominated by a gilded statue of the Buddha Shakyamuni about 8 m tall. The monastery's library holds precious manuscripts, and a museum displays thangkas, masks, weapons and ritual objects. Morning prayers, with long horns and chanting, are a moving experience for visitors who arrive early.

Tawang Monastery is the stage for the Torgya festival in January, when monks perform masked cham dances to ward off evil, and for Losar celebrations in February or March. Nearby, Urgelling Monastery is revered as the birthplace of the Sixth Dalai Lama, and the Tawang War Memorial commemorates the 1962 conflict.