Tawang

Tawang (Tibetan: རྟ་དབང་, Wylie: Rta-dbang) is a town and administrative headquarter of Tawang district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It lies on NH-13 section of Trans-Arunachal Highway. The town was once the headquarter of the Tawang Tract, which is now divided into the Tawang district and the West Kameng district. Tawang continues as the headquarters of the former.

Tawang is the main tourist destination of Arunachal Pradesh. India occupied Tawang in February 1951 and removed Tibetan administration from the area. China continues to claim Tawang as its territory.

It is situated 448 km by road north-west of state capital Itanagar at an elevation of approximately 3,000 metres (10,000 ft). It lies to the north of the Tawang Chu river valley, roughly 10 miles (16 km) south of the Line of Actual Control with China. Tawang is also the site of a famous Gelugpa Buddhist Monastery.

Etymology

Tawang comes from a Tibetan word. In Tibetan, "Ta" means "horse" and "wang" means "chosen." So, the name "Tawang" means "chosen by horse."

History

Tawang is home to the Monpa people. The Tawang Monastery was founded in 1681 by Merak Lama Lodre Gyatso, following the wishes of the 5th Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso. The name "Tawang" means "chosen by horse," based on a legend that a horse chose the spot for the monastery. The sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso, was born in Tawang.

Historically, Tawang was part of Tibet. In 1914, Tibet and British India agreed on a border in the Assam Himalaya region called the McMahon Line, which included Tawang being handed over to the British. However, China never accepted this agreement. For many years, Tawang was still under Tibetan control. It wasn’t until 1951 that India took control of Tawang after Tibet became part of China.

In 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama reached Tawang when he fled from China. During the Sino-Indian war of 1962, Tawang was briefly controlled by China but returned to India after the war ended. China still claims Tawang and much of Arunachal Pradesh today.

Geography

Tawang town is about 555 kilometres (345 miles) from Guwahati and 320 kilometres (200 miles) from Tezpur. It sits at an average height of 2,669 metres (8,757 feet) above sea level. Tawang is north of the Sela Pass and Tunnel, and lies in the area drained by the Tawang Chu river.

Climate

The climate in Tawang is cold. Winters have much less rain than summers. This climate is called a warm-summer humid continental climate. The average temperature in Tawang is 5.5 °C, and the area gets about 3,080 millimetres of rain each year.

Demographics

As of the 2011 census, Tawang had a population of 11,202 people.

Tawang Monastery

Tawang Monastery was started by Mera Lama Lodre Gyatso following the wishes of the 5th Dalai Lama, Nagwang Lobsang Gyatso. It is part of the Gelugpa group and is the biggest Buddhist monastery in India. The name Tawang (Tibetan: རྟ་དབང་, Wylie: Rta-dbang) means "horse chosen". Many believe it is the largest Buddhist monastery in the world outside of Lhasa, Tibet. It holds special meaning for Tibetan Buddhists because it is where the sixth Dalai Lama was born.

In 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama left Tibet to avoid the Chinese army. He came into India on March 30 and stayed for a few days at Tawang Monastery before moving on to Tezpur in Assam on April 18.

Transportation

Airport

Tawang Air Force Station has a working heliport. The Indian Air Force has offered an upgraded landing ground in Tawang for civil helicopter and flight operations for tourism and the UDAN scheme.

The closest airports with regular flights are Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati and Salonibari Airport in Tezpur, located 450 and 325 kilometers away, respectively.

Railway

The nearest railway station is at Naharlagun, connected to major cities. A broad-gauge railway line connecting Missamari in Assam with Tawang has been proposed, and a survey for the line was sanctioned in 2011.

The planned 166 km Bhalukpong–Tawang railway link from Bhalukpong railway station to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh will improve tourism and national security. It will pass through high elevations, with 80% of the tracks in tunnels, including the longest tunnel at 29.48 km. This railway will shorten the current 285 km road distance by 119 km. Alongside the railway, a two-lane road will also be developed. Future plans include extending the line westward by 100 km to Yongphulla Airport in Bhutan.

Road

Tawang is located at the northern end of NH 13 of the Trans-Arunachal Highway network, 447.5 kilometres from the state capital Itanagar, and is connected by buses run by APSRTC and private services.

The Border Roads Organisation was tasked in July 2020 to build a strategic road from Lumla west of Tawang in India to Trashigang in Bhutan through Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary. This will shorten the distance from Guwahati to Tawang by 150 km and allow faster troop movement in eastern Bhutan and the Tawang sector of the India–China–Bhutan border. Construction of this road involves upgrading existing roads and building new sections.

The Sela Tunnel through Sela Pass is a road tunnel under construction to ensure all-weather travel between Guwahati in Assam and Tawang. Named after the 4170 m Sela Pass, the tunnel will cut the distance between Dirang and Tawang by 10 km. Construction began in early 2019 and was completed in March 2024. The tunnel, situated at about 13,000 feet, provides year-round access to Tawang, reducing travel time and removing the need to cross the snow-prone Sela Pass. The Border Roads Organisation is also improving the road from Sangetsar Tso to Bum La Pass on the India–China Line of Actual Control.

Tourism

Tawang is a popular place to visit in Arunachal Pradesh, known for its snowy winters in December and January and a fun ski lift in town.

Visitors need a special permit called an Inner Line Permit (ILP) to travel there, which can be obtained in cities like Kolkata, Guwahati, Tezpur, and New Delhi. The journey often includes a scenic drive up a steep hill road, passing Sela Pass at 4,176 metres (13,701 ft). Travelers can reach Tawang by road from Tezpur and Assam, and there are flights from Kolkata to Tezpur. In October 2014, the government started a helicopter service from Guwahati.

Some beautiful spots to see near Tawang include Sela Pass, Bum La Pass, Lumla, Sangetsar Tso (Madhuri Lake), Pangang Teng Tso (PTSO Lake), and Zemithang.