TAWANG, India - The Dalai Lama visited a remote Tibetan monastery in northeast India on Sunday at the start of a trip that has infuriated China, which claims the surrounding Himalayan region as its own.

Thousands of Buddhists gave the Tibetan spiritual leader, who has lived in exile in India for 50 years, a rousing welcome as he arrived at the Tawang monastery, perched at 3,500 meters (11,400 feet) in Arunachal Pradesh.

"We are very pleased and blessed to have His Holiness here," said Sarwang Lama, a monk wearing a new maroon robe, as Tibetan prayer flags fluttered in the cold mountain air and posters of the Dalai Lama adorned walls and rooftops.

The Nobel laureate smiled and waved to excited crowds of devotees, and said he was "very happy" to be in Tawang.

Sandwiched between Myanmar, Bhutan and Tibet, the state of Arunachal is governed by India but claimed by China. Beijing has called the visit a provocation aimed at harming relations between China and India.

Tawang - 400 years old and the second largest Tibetan monastery in India - holds strong memories for the Dalai Lama.

When he fled Tibet following a failed uprising against Chinese rule, Arunachal was his point of entry to India and he took refuge in Tawang at the start of his decades in exile.

"There are a lot of emotions involved," he said, looking back. "When I escaped from China in 1959, I was mentally and physically very weak."

"The Chinese did not pursue us in 1959, but when I reached India they started speaking against me."

Preparations for his week-long tour of Arunachal have been underway for two months, with many buildings receiving a fresh coat of paint and regular prayers held for his safe journey.

"It was a lifetime experience to have seen the Dalai Lama from so close," said a young monk called Sherbu on Sunday. "He waved back at us and I consider this to be a blessing for me and the people here."

It was not the Dalai Lama's first return visit to Tawang but the timing has caused Beijing to protest in a stronger fashion than in the past.

Indo-Chinese tensions over their disputed Himalayan border - the cause of a brief but bloody war in 1962 - have risen in recent months, with reports of troop movements and minor incursions on both sides.