183 Kms from Bomdila & 3500 m above Mean Sea Level Tawang has a unique historic perspective mixed with natural beauty and solitude of Gudpi and Chong-Chugmi ranges and Tawang chu River and Valley. Tawang is an important seat of Mahayana Buddhism famous for Tawang Monastery of the Gelukpa founded by Mera Lama Lodre Gyaltso during the 17th century, and a contemporary of the 5th Dalai Lama. This is the second largest Monastery in Asia and the largest one of its kind in the country which controls 17 Gompas in the region. The most imposing part of the Monastery is the three storied assembly hall which houses the temple and the 28 ft high Golden statue of Buddha. The monastery has a big library having an impressive collection of ancient books and manuscripts where the famous Buddhist scriptures Kangyur and Tangyur inscribed in gold are preserved.

Monastery

Nuranang Water Falls.      It is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in this part of the country yet unknown to many travelers. It lies some 40 km before the holy town of Tawang and located a few miles away from the town of Jang off the road connecting Tawang and Bomdila. It is also known as the Jang Falls. There is a small hydel plant located near the base that generates electricity for local use.

It is a plunge waterfall with white cold water gushing monstrously from a height greater than 100m.

Nura was the name of a local Monpa girl who had helped a soldier, MVC Jaswant Singh Rawat, in the 1962 Sino-Indian War and was later captured by the Chinese forces. The waterfall is named in her honour.

War Memorial.         Tawang War Memorial is dedicated to the martyrs of the 1962 Sino-Indian war. The memorial is nestled among picturesque snow-capped peaks overlooking the imposing Tawang-Chu valley.

The 40-foot-high multi-hued war memorial to the unsung heroes is an imposing structure in a stupa design. It is locally called ‘Namgyal Chortan’ and has names of 2420 dead soldiers etched in gold on 32 black granite plagues. The memorial is flanked by two memorial halls – one housing the personal articles of the martyrs and the other used for sound-and-light show depicting their heroic deeds of the soldiers.

The war memorial was blessed by Dalai Lama, who sent Holy Scriptures and idols of Arya Avlokiteshwara and Lord Buddha personally blessed by him. These have been deposited in the vaults of the stupa.