HimLocal
Sign in
HimLocal
The painted three-storey front of the assembly hall of Tawang Monastery above a wide stone courtyard, with snow peaks behind
1 / 3
Photo: Yatrika · CC BY-SA 4.0
Day planFirst visitmonasteries and historyrelaxed

One day in Tawang — the monastery, Urgelling and the war memorial

A gentle one-day plan for Tawang: morning prayers at Tawang Monastery, Urgelling where the sixth Dalai Lama was born, and the Tawang War Memorial in town.
Planning to go?Add your dates — we’ll count down, and tell you when stays or batches open for them.

A quiet first day in Tawang, at about 2,669 m. Begin with morning prayers at Tawang Monastery, the largest Buddhist monastery in India; visit Urgelling, where the sixth Dalai Lama was born; and end at the Tawang War Memorial in the town.

Photos: Yatrika (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Rohit Sharma (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Yatrika (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.

Who this is for

First-time visitors who have just arrived over the Sela road and want a gentle day at altitude.

Day by day

Day 1

A slow day in the monastery town

3 stops · 19 min on the road

Short hops, all within about 12 minutes of the centre; keep the pace easy at this height.

  1. 08:00
    Tawang Monastery
    temple · 1 min from Tawang · about 2 h there
    The Gelug monastery on the ridge, founded in 1680–81; go for the morning prayers in the assembly hall.
  2. ↓ 14 min by road · 5 km
    11:30
    Urgelling Monastery
    temple · 12 min from Tawang · about 45 min there
    The small gompa just below the town, honoured as the birthplace of the sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso.
  3. ↓ 5 min by road · 2 km
    14:00
    Tawang War Memorial
    monument · 9 min from Tawang · about 45 min there
    The army's memorial in the town to the soldiers who fell in 1962, within walking distance of the market.

Getting there

See how to reach Tawang for the road from Guwahati and Tezpur, and the Arunachal ILP guide for the permit you need before you set out.

Where to stay

Stay in Tawang. We have no verified lodging, prices or booking rules.

Know before you go

  • Carry your Inner Line Permit and an identity card; checkposts ask for them.
  • Dress modestly in the monasteries, walk clockwise round the shrines and ask before photographing monks.
  • Take the first day slowly; Tawang is high, and the monastery stands at about 3,000 m.

Places on this route

Tawang Monastery — Galden Namgey Lhatse, India's largest Buddhist monastery
Tawang Monastery — Galden Namgey Lhatse, India's largest Buddhist monastery
temple · 1 min from Tawang

Going together

No one has started a group going on this plan yet. Start one and other travellers can ask to come along.

Start a groupHow groups work

Other ways to do it

All Tawang itineraries →
Two days in Tawang — the monastery town, then Sela Pass, Jaswant Garh and Nuranang Falls
Two days in Tawang — the monastery town, then Sela Pass, Jaswant Garh and Nuranang Falls
1 night · 2 days · First visit · monasteries and mountains
Two days in Tawang: the monastery, Urgelling and the war memorial, then the Sela road to Nuranang Falls, the Jaswant Garh memorial and the 4,170 m Sela Pass.
Best Mar–May · Oct–Nov
See the plan →

More places nearby

All of Tawang →
Nuranang Falls near Jang — the 100 m waterfall on the road to Tawang
Nuranang Falls near Jang — the 100 m waterfall on the road to Tawang
waterfall · 11 km away
Jaswant Garh War Memorial — Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat's post below Sela Pass
Jaswant Garh War Memorial — Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat's post below Sela Pass
monument · 12 km away
Sela Pass — the 4,170 m pass and its sacred lake on the road to Tawang
Sela Pass — the 4,170 m pass and its sacred lake on the road to Tawang
pass · 24 km away

Nearby destinations

All destinations →
A wide view over the houses of Shillong spread across forested hills under a sky of towering white clouds
Shillong
224 km away · 4 itineraries · 6 places
A deep, steep-sided green valley filled with low grey cloud seen from the Mawkdok Dympep viewpoint near Cherrapunji
Cherrapunji
257 km away · 4 itineraries · 3 places
Wooden houses with red tin roofs on a green slope in Kohima Village, with the city and blue hills behind under white clouds
Kohima
309 km away · 3 itineraries · 3 places
Pastel-coloured buildings of Gangtok climbing a steep, forested hillside, seen from a viewpoint across the valley
Gangtok
321 km away · 5 itineraries · 11 places
Been here?Help the next traveller — our team checks every contribution.

Questions people ask

What can you see in Tawang in one day?

Tawang Monastery, the largest Buddhist monastery in India; Urgelling, the small gompa where the sixth Dalai Lama was born; and the Tawang War Memorial in the town. All three are within about 12 minutes of the centre on our routing, so the day is easy on the legs at this height.

Where was the sixth Dalai Lama born?

In Tawang, by Wikipedia's account, and Urgelling Gompa just below the town is honoured as his birthplace. Tsangyang Gyatso, the sixth Dalai Lama, came from this Monpa country, and Urgelling is a place of pilgrimage for Tibetan Buddhists. The gompa is about 12 minutes from the town centre on our routing.

Do I need a permit for Tawang Monastery?

Not for the monastery itself, but every Indian visitor to Arunachal Pradesh needs an Inner Line Permit, applied for online, and foreign nationals need a Protected or Restricted Area Permit. Carry your permit and an identity card. Read our Arunachal ILP guide before you set out.