Rongbuk Monastery Tibet
English Name: Rongbuk Monastery
Chinese Name: 绒布寺
Location: New Tingri County, Shigatse
Altitude: 4,980 meters (16,339 feet) above sea level
Opening Year: 1899
Founder: Zatul Rinpoche
Recommended sightseeing hour: 1-2 hours
Entrance ticket: 25 CNY per person
Opening hours: 09:00 am - 16:00 pm
Rongbuk, also spelled as Rongphu, means the source of the ice valley in Tibetan. Named after the famous Rongbuk Glacier, the Rongbuk monastery is one of the Nyingma Sect monasteries in Tibet. Coming top of CNN's 2011 list of "Great Places to be a Recluse”, it stands near the base of Everest’s North Face, like a guard, defending Mount Everest from touching by human beings. Compared with the greatest monasteries in Lhasa, Rongbuk Monastery is small-scale with only a few dozen monks and nuns living together, and its outlook is far from magnificent, or even a bit decadent. However, the shabby appearance doesn’t prevent the monastery providing spiritual solace to the mountain seekers, as well as devoted pilgrims, because it's claimed to be the highest monastery on earth with an altitude of 4,980m (16,339 ft) above sea level, while the real highest monastery is Dirapuk Monastery on Mount Kailash, with an altitude of 5,072m (16,640 ft) above sea level.
History of Rongbuk Monastery
Rongbuk Monastery was founded in 1899 by the Rongbuk Lama known as Zatul Rinpoche. It used to be extremely vigorous in Tibetan Buddhism, as the Buddist shrine for faithful monks all over China, as well as constant pilgrims from Indian and Nepal. The monastery is separated into two sections: the upper old monastery and the lower new monastery. The upper old monastery lies closer to Mount Everest, where Guru Rinpoche’s meditation cave is maintained with his handprints and footprints on the stones and stupas. The new monastery was founded in 1902 by Nyingmapa Lama called Ngawang Tenzin Norbu, which was once exuberant with a dozen religious institutions under its affiliation, but it was entirely ruined by overaction of China's Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) by 1974. The current Rongbuk Monastery which people often visit is the new monastery renovated since 1983.
What to see at Rongbuk Monastery
1. Panoramic View of Mount Everest and “Flag Clouds”
Rongbuk Monastery is about 20km away from the peak of Mount Everest, hence, it used to be the case camp for climbers to the north slope of Mount Everest. Even today, it is the closest accommodation choice for non-climbers to the Tibet-side base camp of Mount Everest. It's a perfect place to photograph Mount Everest, particularly at sunrise and sunset. Looking towards the south from here, you can see Mount Everest like a giant pyramid, standing extraordinarily among peaks of the Himalaya mountains. On clear days, you can see the jaw-dropping clouds in varied formations, like “flags” attached to the peak of this mightiest mountain, which is known as the world’s highest weather vane.
2. The Architecture of Rongbuk Monastery
Rongbuk Monastery has a total of 5 floors, but only 2 floors are used now. Monks and nuns use the same prayer hall but have separate residences, which is rare in Tibetan Buddhism. It housed more than 300 monks and 300 nuns before, and it owned over 20 halls in its prosperous period. But now there are only about 11 monks and 8 nuns living there, with one chanting room and one main hall enshrining statues of Buddhist statues, like Sakyamuni and Padmasambhava.
Before entering Rongbuk Monastery, a large and round stupa is of vital tourist interest, which frequently appears in their great photographs with Mount Everest in the background. Beneath the stupa, Mani stones are placed by Tibetan pilgrims as a form of devotional Kintamani. Inside the monastery, some mural paintings are superb after the renovation work since 1983, delineating Tibetan belief and culture. Lastly, the kora (pilgrimage circuit) around the monastery complex is also deserving, where a few meditation caves and carved prayers scatter the cliff walls.
3. Cham Dance at Rongbuk Monastery
Every 15th day of the fourth month in the Tibetan calendar, a grand ceremony will be held in most monasteries of Tibet to celebrate the birth of Sakyamuni, which is known as the “Saga Dawa Festival”. The “Cham Dance'' will be held from 10 am for 3 days at Rongbuk Monastery. The monastery is brought to life, filled with colorful flags, prayer flags, and decorations. A lot of tents were set up by local Tibetans a day before emerging around the monastery, to watch the cham dance. Cham Dance is distinctive in Tibetan Buddhism, which is a form of meditation for both performers and the audience.
4. Rongbuk Glacier
Rongbuk Glacier is about 8km aways from Rongbuk Monastery, on the way to the previous address of Everest Base Camp (current E.B.C is close to Rongbuk Monastery). Wrapped in the blessed calmness of its vicinity, Rongbuk Glacier offers a panorama of massed snow, icy forests, glaciated lake, diversified shaped peaks, and columns. Nowadays, it's taken as part of the core protected zone of the Himalaya Nature Reserve, along with the previous address of Everest Base Camp. It can only be reached with the trekking permit issued by (Tibet Mountaineering Association), along with necessary requirements and professional gears.
Best time to visit Rongbuk Monastery
Rongbuk Monastery can be visited all year round, except the extremely cold weather (February to March) to block the roads. The best months to visit Rongbuk Monastery include April, May, June, September, October, and November. During these months, the weather is getting much warmer with moderate temperature, more daylights are provided to explore the monastery and around, and the night tends not to be as freezing as in wintertime from December to March. Meanwhile, these months usually offer a clear blue sky that allows for superb views of Mt Everest. In summertime from July to August, the monsoon season in Tibet, it is also good to visit Rongbuk Monastery. However, Mount Everest is always hiding behind heavy clouds in the two months.
How to get to Rongbuk Monastery
Today, Rongbuk Monastery is accessible by paved road after 2-3 hours drive from either Shegar (if you are coming from Lhasa) or Old Tingri (if you are coming from Kathmandu by road). There is no public bus or train to reach Rongbuk Monastery, all foreign travelers MUST be on an organized Tibet tour through a Tibet travel agency, which arranges you with Tibet Permit (about 2 weeks to process), a private vehicle, a driver, a tour guide, and a scheduled travel itinerary.
As Rongbuk Monastery is located at an altitude of 4,980m/16,339ft, it is very important to have proper acclimatization at a slow pace. We recommend a journey from Lhasa to Rongbuk Monastery and back to Lhasa or further to Kathmandu, which takes about 8-12 days in line with your travel desires. For your information, below is an example itinerary from Lhasa to Rongbuk Monastery and Everest Base Camp.
Day 1: Arrival at Lhasa [3,650m]
Day 2: Lhasa City Sightseeing - Visit Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, and Barkhor Streets
Day 3: Lhasa City Sightseeing - Visit Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery, and Norbulingka Summer Palace
Day 4: Lhasa / Yamdrok Lake [4,441m] / Gyantse [3980m] / Shigatse [3,840m], 360KM / about 7 hours drive
Day 5: Shigatse / Lhatse / Shegar / Rongbuk Monastery [4,980m] / E.B.C [5,150m], 340KM / about 7 hours drive
Day 6: Rongbuk Monastery / Shegar / Shigatse [3,840m], 340KM / about 6-7 hours drive
Day 7: Shigatse / Lhasa [3, 650m], 300KM / about 6 hour drive
Day 8: Lhasa train station/airport dropping off
NOTE: An alternative is on Day 6 to go from Rongbuk Monastery to the Sino-Nepal border Gyirong Town, and continue to Kathmandu on Day 7. For more tour details, you may check here or contact us directly!
Useful Travel Tips
- The previous address of E.B.C was taken as part of the core protected zone of the Himalaya Nature Reserve, which is forbidden to enter. Hence, the Everest Base Camp was relocated to near Rongbuk Monastery. For travelers, Rongbuk Monastery is the far end where you can reach Mt Everest.
- A basic guesthouse with a small restaurant is available for accommodation near the monastery. However, it is impractical to expect anything more than adequate, considering its remote location. Rongbuk Monastery Guesthouse provides 30 rooms and more than 100 beds, with public toilets (all are squat pits and extremely terrible) and hot water (no showers). Guests can have hot noodles, rice, or instant food at the restaurant.
- Some beds and quilts haven’t been washed for a long time, we advise you to bring a lining or thin sleeping bag, if you are particularly hygiene conscious.
- You’d better bring a power bank or have your phone and camera charged at your hotel (in Shegar/Old Tingri) before leaving for Rongbuk because the electricity at Rongbuk Monastery is rather limited.
- At Rongbuk Monastery, China Mobile signal allows calls, messages, or even internet access.