Drigung Til Monastery and Namtso Lake
Georgina and I teamed up with a delightful Italian/German couple Fabrizio & Simone and rented a Land-cruiser for a 4 day trip to Dripung Til Monastery and Namtso Lake.
Drigung Til is a small monastery famous for performing sky burials and although perched in a beautiful location we found it quite a spooky place. Foreigners were not allowed to attend sky burials as we might offend the recently departed’s family, however did see lots of black crows and vultures circling the mountain. A Tibetan Sky burial is performed by prayers and the cutting open of the deceased and letting Vultures feed. No pictures are allowed however we did see a few bodies lying around presumably to be sky buried the following day!
Namtso Lake was selected as one of the five most beautiful lakes in China by Chinese National Geography magazine, and it did not disappoint!! Well worth a visit, We hiked around and took in the purity and solemnness of the stunning 360 degree views. In Tibetan, Namtso means ‘Heavenly Lake’ and is one of the three holy lakes in Tibet. Namtso is also famous for its high altitude (4720 meters (about 3 miles) and vast area (1961 square kilometers (about 757 square miles) We had a great time.
