Tawang Monastery in Arunachal Pradesh is the largest monastery in India. It was founded near the small town of the same name in the northwestern part of Arunachal Pradesh, India by Merak Lama Lodre Gyatso in 1680-1681 in accordance with the wishes of the 5th Dalai Lama. The monastery belongs to the Gelug school and has a religious association with Drepung Monastery in Lhasa, which continued during the period of British rule. It is very close to the Tibetan border, in the valley of the Tawang-chu which flows down from Tibet