Tabo caves (Phoo Gumpha)
cave · 290 m away
temple1 min from Tabo4 min walk from the road
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.
What it is
Tabo Monastery, also written Tabo Chos-Khor, stands in the town of Tabo, beside the Spiti River on its left bank. The translator Rinchen Zangpo founded it in 996 CE for Yeshe-Ö, king of the western Himalayan kingdom of Guge, and it is described as the oldest continuously operating Buddhist enclave in India and the Himalayas. It is a daughter monastery of Tholing in western Tibet.
Photos: Mdipa (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Gerd Eichmann (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Schwiki (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Getting there
It is in the town, about 1 km and 2 minutes by road from our reference point, and easily walked. From Kaza it is 47 km and about 67 minutes by road.
The visit
Inside the temples the walls carry paintings, clay statues, inscriptions and long wall texts; the iconography dates from 1042 and later. The monastery was damaged in the 1975 earthquake and rebuilt, and a new assembly hall was added in 1983, where the Dalai Lama held the Kalachakra ceremony. Photography is not permitted inside the temples. In the cliff above are cave retreats used by monks.
When to go
Summers are short, May to August, and winters long, from mid-September to April. See when to visit Tabo.
Around it
The cave retreats are in the cliff above, and Dhankar is the next great monastery site up the valley. See the one-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
How old is Tabo Monastery?
It was founded in 996 CE by the translator Rinchen Zangpo for the king of the western Himalayan kingdom of Guge. The monastery was renovated 46 years later, and it is described as the oldest continuously operating Buddhist enclave in India and the Himalayas.
What is there to see inside?
Wall paintings, clay statues, inscriptions and extensive wall texts cover almost every wall of the temples. Iconographic depictions date from 1042 and later. The 1983 assembly hall is new. Photography is not permitted inside the temples, so the paintings are for the eye.
Is Tabo Monastery protected?
Yes, the Archaeological Survey of India protects it as a national historic treasure. The 1975 earthquake damaged it and it was rebuilt afterwards, and the paint is fragile, so follow the monks' instructions on where to stand and what not to touch.