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Pilgrimage Guide › Sacred Sites 28–36 › Tabo Monastery
Tabo Monastery in the Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh was founded in 996 CE and is one of the oldest working Buddhist monasteries in the Himalayas. Its ancient murals and clay images have earned it the name “Ajanta of the Himalayas”.
Tabo, Lahaul and Spiti district, Himachal Pradesh
996 CE
About 3,050 m
Via Shimla–Kinnaur, or Manali (summer only)
May to October
2–3 hours
Tabo Monastery was founded in 996 CE during the great revival of Buddhism in the western Himalayas, led by the West Tibetan king Yeshe-O and the famous translator Rinchen Zangpo. Teachers and artists from Kashmir and India helped to build and decorate it, so its art shows strong Indian and Kashmiri styles.
The walled complex holds nine temples and many stupas (chortens). The main assembly hall (Tsuglakhang) has life-size clay images of Bodhisattvas around a four-fold Vairochana Buddha, with wall paintings that still keep their colours after a thousand years. Monks once meditated in the caves on the hillside above. Tabo is an active monastery today, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama has given the Kalachakra initiation here.
Tabo carries the Buddha’s teaching across a thousand years of unbroken practice. Its paintings and images were made by artists from India and Kashmir, so they link the Himalayan tradition back to the great Buddhist centres of the plains.
The silence of the old temples, high in the mountains, makes Tabo a deeply peaceful place for prayer and meditation.
Tabo is in the Spiti Valley at about 3,050 m. It can be reached by road from Shimla through Kinnaur, a route that stays open for most of the year except after heavy snow, or from Manali over the Kunzum Pass, which opens only in summer. Kaza, the main town of Spiti, is about 47 km away. The nearest airports are Shimla and Bhuntar (Kullu).
May to October is the best time, when the roads are open and the weather is mild. Spend a night or two on the way up to adjust to the altitude. Photography is not allowed inside the old temples, to protect the paintings. Bring warm clothes even in summer, as evenings are cold.
Prime Value Tours can include this sacred place in a private tour for your group, with an English or Thai-speaking guide, comfortable air-conditioned transport, vegetarian meals and unhurried time for chanting and meditation at every stop. Tell us your group size and travel dates, and we will plan the best route and send your quotation within 24 hours.
Tabo Monastery was founded in 996 CE, which makes it more than 1,000 years old and one of the oldest working monasteries in the Himalayas.
Because of its ancient wall paintings and clay sculptures, which are among the finest examples of early Himalayan Buddhist art.
Tabo can be reached by road from Shimla through Kinnaur, or from Manali over the Kunzum Pass in summer. Kaza is about 47 km away.
May to October is the best time, when roads are open and the weather is mild.
Photography is not allowed inside the old temples, to protect the ancient paintings.
Government-approved tour operator from Varanasi since 1999. Private Buddhist pilgrimage tours for Thai and Southeast Asian groups, with English or Thai-speaking guides.
