Tabo caves (Phoo Gumpha)
The Phoo Gumpha caves are cut into the cliff above Tabo Monastery and were used by monks for meditation, with an assembly hall and faded paintings.
Himachal Pradesh⛰ 3,280 m2 itineraries
Tabo
Tabo in Spiti at 3,280 m: the monastery founded in 996, the cave retreats above it and the day trip to Gue, with measured drive times and two copyable plans.
Itineraries you can copy
All 2 →
Day plan · First visitTemples & heritage
One day around Tabo — the monastery, the caves and Dhankar
A one-day Tabo plan: the monastery founded in 996 and cave retreats in the morning, then the drive up the Spiti valley to Dhankar. Free, copyable itinerary.
Best May–Sep
See the plan →
1 night · 2 days · First visitTemples & heritage
Two days in Tabo — the monastery and the road to Gue
A two-day Tabo plan: the monastery founded in 996 and its cave retreats on day one, then the long drive to Gue and its mummy on day two. Free, copyable.
Best May–Sep
See the plan →Tabo is a small town on the Spiti River at 3,280 m, on the road between Reckong Peo and Kaza. Its reason to exist is the monastery, founded in 996 CE and described as the oldest continuously operating Buddhist enclave in India and the Himalayas. The town grew around it, and the Dalai Lama led the Kalachakra ceremony here in 1996 for the monastery's thousandth year.
Tabo Monastery is a 2-minute drive from the centre, and the cave retreats are in the cliff above it. The valley's other great monastery sites lie further up the road: Dhankar, 48 minutes away, and Lhalung, 67 minutes. Gue Monastery, 76 minutes away, is the long day trip.
A day covers the monastery, the caves and Dhankar; two days add Gue. See the one-day plan and the two-day plan, things to do in Tabo, when to visit and how to reach Tabo.
Photos: Trina Singha Roy (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Gerd Eichmann (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Rollinghopes (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Places worth the drive
Tabo Monastery
Tabo Monastery in Spiti was founded in 996 CE and is described as the oldest continuously operating Buddhist enclave in India, with frescoes on its walls.
Gue Monastery and the mummy of Sangha Tenzin
Gue Monastery in Spiti keeps the mummy of Sangha Tenzin, a monk about 500 years old, in a village close to the Indo-Tibetan border, 76 minutes from Tabo.
On the map
Open the Tabo map →The places a Tabo day reaches, with the road time from town. Each opens on the map with its plans and pages beside it.
Before you go
All articles →
Things to do in Tabo — 5 stops, and which need a car
Five things to do in Tabo, from the monastery founded in 996 and cave retreats to Dhankar, Lhalung and Gue, with measured drive times and the best time to go.
How to reach Tabo — distances and drive times
How to reach Tabo in Spiti by road from Kaza, Reckong Peo, Kalpa, Shimla and Chandigarh, with measured distances and drive times and the nearest airport.
Best time to visit Tabo — the short summer and the long winter
When to visit Tabo in the Spiti valley: summers are short, May to August, and winters long, mid-September to April, with winter nights that can reach -25°C.
Questions people ask
What is Tabo famous for?
Tabo Monastery, founded in 996 CE and described as the oldest continuously operating Buddhist enclave in India and the Himalayas. Its walls carry frescoes, sculptures and wall texts, and the Archaeological Survey of India protects it. The Dalai Lama held the Kalachakra ceremony here in 1996.
How many days do you need in Tabo?
One day covers the monastery, the cave retreats above it and Dhankar, about 48 minutes away. A second day adds Gue Monastery, 76 minutes away, with its 500-year-old mummy. Most visitors treat Tabo as a night between Kaza and Kalpa on the long road through Spiti.
Can you take photographs inside Tabo Monastery?
No. Photography is not permitted inside the monastery's temples, according to the town's own article, though you can photograph the outside and the grounds. Always ask before taking any picture at the other monasteries in the valley, and keep your voice low in the halls.
Photographs by Wikimedia Commons contributors (CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA), resized; each picture is credited on its own page.