Tawang

A 335 years old fort-monastery in a spectacular landscape

Cradled between Bhutan in the West and Tibet in the North, Tawang, with its enormous 330-year-old fort monastery at 3000 meters, is a prime tourist attraction for people travelling to West Arunachal Circuit. With the Tawang Chu River flowing through this valley, the majestic view of the famous Tawang Monastery will make you speechless. When you first gaze at it from a distance, it will look like a vast ship floating in the blue sky.

Tawang Monastery is the second largest Monastery in Asia and the largest in the country. Mira Lama Lodre Gyatso founded it in 1861. In 1959 March, Dalai Lama came to Tawang through Jemithang. Jemithang is 100 km away from Tawang. Here Gresham Monastery is situated in the lap of a hill.

According to a study in the year 2011, the population of Tawang was 49,950. An average of 23 people lives per sq km. The Monapas' are the principal inhabitants, but a few populations of Takpa and Tibetans also exists. The West Kameng and Tawang districts are full of Mahayana monasteries, Chortens and other structures belonging to the 17th and 18th centuries.