Tawang
Loading map…
Overview
Tawang Monastery, in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh, is the largest monastery in India and one of the largest in the world. It was founded in the seventeenth century by Merak Lama Lodre Gyatso, in the time of the fifth Dalai Lama.
It belongs to the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism and stands at about 3,000 m above the Tawang Chu valley. The sixth Dalai Lama was born in the Tawang area.
Tawang is close to the border with China, which claims the area, making it strategically sensitive.
Geography and key facts
- Tawang district, Arunachal Pradesh
- Largest monastery in India
- Gelug school; 17th century
- Birthplace region of the sixth Dalai Lama
Why it matters for UPSC
Tawang features in India–China boundary questions and art-and-culture questions on monasteries.
Note for UPSC
Arunachal Pradesh; India's largest monastery.
Expect questions linking sites with events in the Buddha's life and later Buddhist history.
Asked in PYQs
No question in our Prelims bank names Tawang yet.
Key facts
- Type
- Buddhist site
- State / UT
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Coordinates
- 27.586°N, 91.858°E
From the Map Explorer data; positions are for orientation.
In the lessons
- Vedic Age, Mahajanapadas, Buddhism and Jainism (map lesson)
- Buddhism: Life of the Buddha, Teachings, Councils and Spread (map lesson)
- Buddhist, Rock-Cut and Early Sculptural Traditions (map lesson)