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We are delighted to announce the opening on April 10, 2025, of TABO: INTO THE LIGHT, which will feature the oldest Tibetan temple site to survive largely in original form that functions as one of the world’s oldest monastic communities. Famous for its murals, sculptures, and cliff-faced caves, it is popularly known as the “Ajanta of the Himalayas.” Located in the Spiti Valley, Tabo is a small town on the banks of the Spiti River in Himachal Pradesh, at an altitude of 3,280 meters.
Tabo’s main temple, the “Palace of the Excellent Teachings,” (Tsugla Khang) is a unique work of architectural beauty. Dating back to the 11th century, it represents one of the world’s only fully intact arrangements of life-sized sculptures and paintings to depict a three-dimensional mandala.
The site’s architectural layout is described in detail in the Vajrasekhara Sutra, an important Buddhist text used in Vajrayana schools of Buddhism. The 32 multi-colored, graceful clay sculptures of Vairochana’s associated deities line the assembly hall walls and are cantilevered out of an attached sculpted halo background. Situated above eye-level, the figures are depicted seemingly detached from their lotus petal appearing to be floating ascendingly. Surrounding these deities on the wall are elaborate, colorful mural paintings—scenes of the pilgrimages of Prince Sudhana (Norzang) and subsequent narrated scenes from Buddha’s life on the lower frieze area.
