Tabo is a small town in the
Lahaul and Spiti district on the banks of the
Spiti River in
Himachal Pradesh,
India. The town lies on the road between
Rekong Peo and
Kaza (alternative spelling: Kaja), the sub-divisional headquarters of Spiti. The town surrounds a Buddhist monastery which, according to legend, is said to be over a thousand years old. His Holiness the
Dalai Lama has expressed his desire to retire to Tabo, since he maintains that the
Tabo Monastery is one of the holiest. In 1996, HH the Dalai Lama conducted the
Kalachakra initiation ceremony in Tabo, which coincided with the millennium anniversary celebrations of the Tabo monastery. The ceremony was attended by thousands of Buddhists from across the world. Tabo Monastery's spiritual head is Tsenshap Serkong Rinpoche.