On the road to Diqing
20 kms north of Benzilan, on the road north from Shangri-La, is the Dhondrupling Gompa, set on the edge of a mountainside. It’s a lovely setting, and the monastery is very much a ‘working’ monastery, with monks going about their daily routine. Several were busy installing solar panels.
From the courtyard
A working monastery
Doors to the monks’ rooms
After walking round the main hall in a clockwise direction, I headed up to the roof.
The roof
Then, there was a great deal of activity in the courtyard, as the monks went into the main hall, settled themselves and started to chant and drum. There were about 80 monks chanting, in full dress including yellow hats, and we felt very priviledged to watch it. Alex, our guide, had not seen this sort of thing before, and said that it must be a special occasion. Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to take photos inside the hall.
Outfit
The road further north was still being constructed out of the mountainside.
Road construction
We gained more height until a couple of passes at about 4,500 metres.
Mountain pass
Near the pass
Prayer flags at the highest point
More prayer flags
At this height, you can really feel the altitude, and it was quite cold as well, so we continued on to our final destination, the Songstam Meili Hotel, on the road near Diqing.
Was the decor in the temple plush?
It was very colourful, and worn. You got the impression that it had been there for a long time.
My favorites: Big Mac in photie 3. Dirty protest decor in photie 4.