Tabo Monastery
temple · 290 m away
cave1 min from Tabo
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.
What it is
The Tabo caves, called Phoo Gumpha, are a group of caves cut into the cliff above Tabo Monastery in the Spiti valley. Monks used them for meditation. An assembly hall sits among them, and some paintings remain on the rock face, faded with age.
Photos: Parth.rkt (CC BY-SA 3.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Getting there
They are about 1 km and 2 minutes from our reference point in Tabo, on the same side of the valley as the monastery. The last stretch is a short climb on foot.
The visit
Look at the cliff from below first; the cave mouths show clearly against the pale rock. Climbing to them takes a short, steep effort on loose ground, and at this altitude it is slower than it looks. Little is published about when the caves were cut, so this guide gives no date.
When to go
Summers are short, May to August, and winters long. See when to visit Tabo.
Around it
The monastery is directly below: Tabo Monastery. Both plans start there: the one-day plan and the two-day plan.
Plans that include this
All 2 plans that stop here →
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 →Nearby places
Questions people ask
What are the Tabo caves?
A group of caves carved into the cliff above Tabo Monastery and used by monks for meditation. There is also an assembly hall among them, and some faded paintings remain on the rock face. They are called Phoo Gumpha locally, and are a short walk or drive above the monastery.
How far are they from the monastery?
About a minute's drive and a short climb from our reference point in Tabo, since both the caves and the monastery are on the same side of the valley. Plan for 30 minutes if you want to look at the cliff from below and climb to the openings.
Are the caves difficult to reach?
The cliff is loose rock and the path climbs steeply for a short way, so wear grippy shoes and avoid it after rain or snow. Altitude matters too, because Tabo sits at 3,280 m and a short steep climb is slower there than it looks.