Tibet > Sky burial at the Drigung Til monastery

In the morning, I wake up and take a warm shower. Afterwards, I have a good breakfast at the hotel. I’m ready for a two-day trip outside of Lhasa. The bus is already waiting in front of the hotel, and we load the luggage. Several boxes of water have also been purchased for the journey.

Tibet - Two Tibetan boys watch us as we picnic by the roadside

Staying well hydrated is important, and we have more than a hundred liters of water on the bus. In the city center, the lunch packages still need to be picked up. The bus cannot park there, and illegal parking is strictly monitored. So, the driver maneuvers the bus into the hotel’s indentation, moving back and forth repeatedly. He repeats the maneuver a few hundred meters further on. Blocking the bike lane doesn’t seem to matter. After several maneuvers in the busy street, enough time is allowed to collect the lunch packages. Everyone gets back on the bus, and we set off. Today, we are driving to Drigung Til Monastery. We leave Lhasa, but this time via a different route — heading northeast. Just before the checkpoint, the driver stops, and we have to wait by the roadside. The bus had driven too fast on the previous section, and arriving too quickly at the checkpoint would have resulted in a speeding fine.

Tibet - Yaks are ideal for transporting goods over rough roads

Along the way, we make a short walk through a small village. The village is little more than a single street lined with shops and trading posts. On the other side of the village, the bus picks us up again. A bit further along the route, we stop for lunch. On a small grassy patch, we eat the lunch packages. We are quickly observed by two boys playing nearby, and some elderly women come by to see if anything can be scavenged. After lunch, we continue to Drigung Til Monastery. Along the mountain slopes, we see more and more yaks. The larger long-haired yaks are especially impressive. We also drive through small picturesque villages. It looks like it would be fun to walk through them, but the driver prefers to continue. The sky looks threatening, and he fears that rain might make the road to the monastery impassable. Perhaps he also doesn’t want sixteen tourists with cameras wandering through the village. From the bus, we notice that many roofs are insulated with yak dung mixed with straw. We quickly dub these “yak-pat roofs.” When we see the monastery perched on the mountainside in the distance, we get out. Those who want can walk the last stretch up a narrow path. The elevation gain is 200 meters to reach the monastery at 4,300 meters. It’s a tough and sometimes steep climb, but the view over the valley and monastery is beautiful. The monastery is farther than I expected, and I had clearly underestimated the altitude difference. Nevertheless, I reach the monastery.

Tibet - The temples of the Drigung Til Monastery

The bus is already parked in front of the guesthouse. The guesthouse is basic, and the rooms are primitive. Five of us share one room, while the other rooms are doubles. We also have one large room for meals. The toilet is in the courtyard and is little more than a hole in the ground. Using it is not easy; it’s dirty and smells awful. In the afternoon, under the guidance of Gonbo, we walk the kora around the monastery. Gonbo lived in this monastery, so he can tell us a lot about the temple and monastery. The kora also passes the sky-burial site at 4,450 meters, where the deceased are laid out on the mountaintop for vultures. Funerals take place in the morning, but it is still somewhat eerie to see the site from a distance. Because it is absolutely forbidden to take photos of this sacred place, we left all cameras at the guesthouse. Although Gonbo does not forbid us from taking photos from the summit (but not of the sky-burial itself), he is clearly relieved that we have no cameras with us. We descend along the other side of the mountain, walking among the buildings of the monastery complex, where renovation work is in full swing. In the evening, we eat noodles with bread, tuna, tomato, and cucumber. We chat a little, and slowly everyone retreats to their sleeping bags. As I get into bed, I realize that I have never slept at such a high altitude before.