The Story
OrganizerTawang occupies a unique position in India's cultural and political geography. It is both the birthplace of the 6th Dalai Lama and the site of intense military significance (the 1962 India-China war saw fighting near Tawang). The Tawang Monastery, founded in the 17th century, has been the spiritual centre of the Monpa Buddhist community for over 400 years. The Tawang Festival was conceived in 2012 as a platform to bring this extraordinary cultural heritage to national and international attention -- to position Tawang not only as a military or political location but as a living Buddhist cultural centre with performing arts, handicrafts and ecological heritage of the highest order. The festival's 'Best Cultural Festival' and 'Best Tourist Destination' awards in 2017 confirmed its success in shifting Tawang's national narrative.
Tawang Festival's significance is as the primary cultural platform for Arunachal Pradesh's Buddhist Monpa tradition and for Northeast India's representation in the national festival circuit. The Cham Dance -- a living Buddhist ritual tradition of extraordinary visual power -- is rarely seen outside monastery contexts at this quality and scale. The festival's location at 10,000 feet altitude, surrounded by Himalayan peaks, in proximity to one of Asia's great Buddhist monasteries, makes it a cultural experience with no equivalent elsewhere in India.
Visit the Tawang Festival to encounter the Buddhist Monpa culture of Arunachal Pradesh at over 3,000 metres, in the shadow of one of India's largest monasteries and the birthplace of the sixth Dalai Lama. Masked Cham dances, yak dances, Himalayan cuisine, handicrafts and local music make this high-altitude celebration the premier window onto a remote frontier culture rarely seen elsewhere in India.
