Rongbuk Monastery

Rongbuk Monastery, situated at the foot of the peak, is the temple with the highest elevation in the world. It is only 40 km away from the peak, so it becomes the Base Camp for climbing up Mt. Qomolangma from the northern slope. There are 217 glaciers distributing widely along the northern slope; among them the biggest is called Rongbuk Glacier. As the supreme point of the world, the mountain top is covered with snow all the year round, and when the glaring sun comes out, the peak becomes very pure and beautiful.

While Rongbuk Monastery cannot claim to be the oldest monastery in the world, it is certainly the highest, standing at a towering 4980 meters with one of the best views in the world. It can only be a matter of time until one of the major hotel chains tries to buy this place and turn it into one of the craziest but most breath taking places in the world to spend the night!

The monastery here was first built in 1902 by the Nyingma Lama and originally housed more than 500 monks. Today, only about 50 monks and nuns remain, sharing the same prayer hall but with separate residences. The monastery was renovated in 1983 and there are some wonderful murals in the interior worth looking at. You can also stay the night here, although the standards are pretty basic! There is a shop and a small restaurant here too and you are permitted to put up a tent outside too.