Tabo Monastery at Lahaul and Spiti

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Tabo monastery is located in the village of Tabo, in the secluded valley of Spiti at an altitude of 3050m. It is quiet often referred to as the Ajanta of the Himalayas. The monastery offers magnificent views of the valley below. With its unique decoration and art image intact, it is considered to be the oldest continuously functioning Buddhist monastery in India and the Himalayas. It was initiated by an eminent scholar Richen Zangpo in 996 A.D as an advanced centre of learning. It is basically a complex that houses a number of small monasteries, gompas and temples. It is spread over an area 6300 sq. m and is surrounded by high boundary wall.

Inside The Tabo Monastery complex:

The monastery complex includes a total of nine shrines that were constructed and reconstructed between the periods of 10th to 15th century A.D. Among these structures there are few structures which are considered to be built earlier while the rest are considered to be built later. The temples that are built earlier are The Temple of the Enlightened Gods, The Golden Temple, The Mystic Mandala Temple / Initiation Temple, The temple of Dromton and The Bodhisattva Maitreya Temple. The temple sthat are built later on are The Chamber of Picture Treasure, The Large Temple of Dromton, The White Temple and The Mahakala Vajra Bhairava Temple. The complex also comprises 23 chortens, a monk's chamber and an extension that houses the nums chamber.

Importance of Tabo Monastery:

The importance of Tabo monastery can be judged from the fact that its significance is second to the Tholing Gompa in Tibet in the entire Himalayan region. Even now, the monastery is keeping up its identity of an efficient and effective learning centre by opening up schools to teach modern education to the newer generation. This monastery is popular for being an ancient heritage of the Buddhists. The ancient Tabo monasteryis built of mud, hay and logs of wood, there are equisite wall-paintings inside the monastery dating back to 996 A.D.

Tourists who are desirous of visiting the Tabo Monastery must know that the place is not open throughout the year. It is because of the bas weather including snowfall that cuts it of from the rest of the state for around three fourth of the year. Tabo monastery is not well connected from different parts of the world. There are few options available to reach Tabo monatery. The first way to reach Tabo is to reach Shimla and then proceed by road via Narkanda, Rampur, Jeori, Wangtu, Karcham, Powari, jangi, Puh, Khub, Changoand Hurling. The entire trip covers 365 Km with the option of overnight stops at places. The other option to reach Tabo is to reach Kullu and then move towards it via Rohtang pass, Gramphoo, Batal, Kunzam pass and Kaza. The entire trip is pf 295 Km.