Budget Guesthouse · Tabo
Tabo Monastery Guest House
A plain guesthouse run beside the 996 CE monastery complex in Tabo. Simple rooms, some with shared bathrooms, a short walk from the old assembly hall. Sleeping here at about 3,050 m is the gentlest night in Spiti and puts you at the gate for morning prayers.
Photo: Tim Dellmann · CC BY 3.0 · CommonsThe monastery at Tabo has long offered rooms to visitors next to the complex, and the guest house is the obvious saver choice in the village. Rooms are basic, with simple beds and blankets; some share bathrooms, and hot water may come by bucket on cold mornings. What you pay for is location: the mud walls of the old monastery are a minute away, and the newer monastery where monks hold morning prayers is next door.
Tabo sits at about 3,050 m, lower and warmer than Kaza, so it is the best place on the Kinnaur road to recover after the climb through Nako. Eat at the small cafes along the road, walk to the meditation caves in the late afternoon, and go to bed early. Rooms are limited, so ask ahead in July and August; check current status before you travel.
Why we use it
- Next to the oldest working monastery in the Himalaya
- The lowest, easiest night for acclimatisation in Spiti
- Simple, honest prices
Best for
Trips that stay here
Sleep here on a trip
Photo: Sumita Roy Dutta · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Saver
Spiti by HRTC bus, the slow Kinnaur way in
HRTC and local buses, with one shared taxi loop from Kaza
Photo: Sumita Roy Dutta · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Saver
Spiti village homestays: Dhankar to Langza
Shared car to Kaza, then local buses and short taxi transfers
Photo: Sumita Roy Dutta · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Signature
Gompas of Spiti, in and out by Kinnaur
Private SUV with driver, private guide
Around the stay
Tabo
Tabo, at about 3,050 m on the Spiti river, is home to a monastery founded in 996 CE by the translator Rinchen Zangpo. Its mud-walled halls hold some of the oldest Buddhist paintings and clay sculptures in the Himalaya. It is the lowest overnight stop in Spiti and the right first night on the Shimla route.
Photo: Arup1981 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
The thousand-year-old halls of Tabo
Walk through the mud-walled temples of Tabo, founded in 996 CE, to see painted walls and clay deities that have survive…
Photo: Schwiki · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Climb to Tabo's meditation caves
A short, steep path from the village climbs to caves cut into the cliff above Tabo, once used by monks for meditation, …
Photo: Nrr1729 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
The mummy of Gue, a detour from Tabo
In the small village of Gue, a shrine holds the seated mummy of a monk thought to have died in the 1500s. A half-day si…
Questions
About Tabo Monastery Guest House
Can I book the Tabo Monastery Guest House in advance?
Rooms are limited and booking channels change, so ask through your homestay network or call ahead in season. Outside July and August you can usually find a room on arrival.
Are bathrooms attached at the Tabo Monastery Guest House?
Some rooms share bathrooms and hot water can come by bucket. If you need an attached bathroom, ask when you book or choose a guesthouse in the village.
Are there rules for guests staying at the monastery guest house?
Dress modestly, keep noise down in the evening, do not drink alcohol near the complex and follow the monastery's photography rules inside the halls.
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