Tawang Monastery: Celestial Paradise On A Clear Night

Tawang Monastery near Tawang town in Arunachal Pradesh is the largest monastery in India and the second largest after Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. An 18-feet Buddha statue seated in a lotus position adorns the three-storey shrine whose walls are painted with murals of divinity and Buddhist saints.

Founded by Merak Lama Lodre Gyatso in 1680-1681, the monastery has a school for teaching young monks along with a centre for Buddhist cultural studies. It has a library which has valuable scriptures. Thousands of visitors and pilgrims visit the monastery where ritual dance festivals are performed.