Tabo, Himachal Pradesh

Tabo
town

Tabo Gompa, Spiti
Tabo

Location in Himachal Pradesh, India

Coordinates: 32°05′37″N 78°22′58″E / 32.0937°N 78.3829°ECoordinates: 32°05′37″N 78°22′58″E / 32.0937°N 78.3829°E
Country  India
State Himachal Pradesh
District Lahaul and Spiti
Elevation 3,280 m (10,760 ft)
Languages
  Official Hindi
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)

Tabo is a small town in the Lahaul and Spiti district on the banks of the Spiti River in Himachal Pradesh, India. The town lies on the road between Rekong Peo and Kaza (alternative spelling: Kaja), the sub-divisional headquarters of Spiti. The town surrounds a Buddhist monastery which, according to legend, is said to be over a thousand years old. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has expressed his desire to retire to Tabo, since he maintains that the Tabo Monastery is one of the holiest. In 1996, HH the Dalai Lama conducted the Kalachakra initiation ceremony in Tabo, which coincided with the millennium anniversary celebrations of the Tabo monastery. The ceremony was attended by thousands of Buddhists from across the world. Tabo Monastery's spiritual head is Tsenshap Serkong Rinpoche.

Geography

The village is situated at an altitude of 10,760 ft/ 3,280 metres.

Places of interest

Tabo Village as seen from Tabo Caves

The temples within the monastery complex in Tabo have a plethora of wall paintings and mud statues. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) attempted to restore some paintings that were ravaged by time, but were not very successful. Photography, however, is not permitted inside the monastery.

Tourism

There are a few hotels in Tabo, of which the Banjara Camps retreat is the most luxurious. The temperatures here plummet at night. There are other hotels and hostels like Tashi Gangsar, Menthok Dumra at Tabo, including the monastery's own guest houses.

Transport

Communication to the main villages around the area is by way of satellite phones and occasional goods carriers and buses that populate the road between Tabo and Kaza.

Notes

    References

    Deepak Sanan & Dhanu Swadi. 2002. Exploring Kinnaur & Spiti in the Trans-Himalaya. 2nd edition. Indus Publishing Co., New Delhi. ISBN 81-7387-131-0, pp. 147–153

    External links