Tabo Rock Art

Tabo is a small village located on the banks of the Spiti River. It is well known for its monastery that is more than a thousand years old and has amazing Ajanta like paintings. Its caves show that monks lived here even before there was any settlement in the area. It is, however, the carvings on big rocks that tell us that this area was probably inhabited since pre-historic times. The carvings have not been documented so the exact time period is not known. To explore these carvings you have to go behind the local school and keep looking at all the big rocks. Some of these will surprise you with amazing figures on them. The most prominent symbol is that of Swastika that can be seen on many rocks, and many times on a single rock. In terms of density, these are followed by carvings of different animals like deer and humped bull. There are also human figures and weapons like bows and arrows carved on rocks. However, a lot of these carvings have faded away and are difficult to interpret.