Tawang Monastery, Khonsa, Arunachal Pradesh

 Tawang Monastery in Arunachal Pradesh is the largest monastery in India. It was founded near the small town of the same name in the northwestern part of Arunachal Pradesh state of India by Merak Lama Lodre Gyatso in 1680-1681 in accordance with the wishes of the 5th Dalai Lama. The monastery belongs to the Gelugpa school and has a religious association with Drepung Monastery in Lhasa, which continued during the period of British rule. It is very close to the Tibetan border, in the valley of the Tawang-chu which flows down from Tibet.

The monastery is three stories high and occupies an area of 140 sq m. It is enclosed by a 610 m long compound wall. Within the complex there are 65 residential buildings and 10 other structures. Tawang Monastery is one of the largest monasteries of Mahayana sect in Asia. The monastery is also known in Tibetan as Galden Namgey Lhatse, which translates to 'celestial paradise in a clear night.' The library of the monastery has valuable old scriptures, mainly Kanjur and Tanjur, numbering 850 bundles.