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. It is the site of a famous Gelugpa Buddhist Monastery.