Tawang Monastery

Tawang Monastery
Tawang Monastery
Religion
Affiliation	Tibetan Buddhism
Sect	Gelug
Location
Location	Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh
Country	India
Location within India Show map of Arunachal Pradesh Tawang Monastery (India) Show map of India
Geographic coordinates	27°35′11″N 91°51′27″E / 27.58639°N 91.85750°E / 27.58639; 91.85750
Architecture
Style	65 residential buildings
Founder	Mera Lama Lodre Gyasto

Tawang Monastery is a Buddhist monastery located in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, India. It is the largest monastery in the country. It is situated in the valley of the Tawang Chu, in close proximity to the Chinese and Bhutanese border.

Tawang Monastery is known in Tibetan as Gaden Namgyal Lhatse, which translates to "the divine paradise of complete victory". It was founded by Merak Lama Lodre Gyatso in 1680–1681 in accordance with the wishes of the 5th Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso. It belongs to the Gelug school of Vajrayana Buddhism and had a religious association with Drepung Monastery of Lhasa, which continued during the period of British rule.

The monastery is three stories high. It is enclosed by a 925 feet (282 m) long compound wall. Within the complex there are 65 residential buildings. The library of the monastery has valuable old scriptures, mainly Kangyur and Tengyur.