If you can't make the long trek to Sèdá's Larung Gar Buddhist academy, you can get a semblance of the spectacle through a visit to Báiyù Sì (Baiyul; 3150m), a small monastery village of striking beauty. Wander the temples and observe the 200 monks living here, then explore the maze of lanes that wind among the red and white houses clinging to the hillside.
The original monastery, built in 1665, grew to be one of the six most influential monasteries of the Nyingma (Red Hat) sect. It has been restored and rebuilt several times, and at its height had more than a thousand monks, before it was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. The monastery was rebuilt in 1982 with both private and government funds.
The monastery has a small printing operation in a building just past the main halls. On the second floor, you can watch carvers create delicate script in reverse.
The monastery village infrastructure remains rudimentary; raw sewage flows onto the paths after rains. There are no restaurants or guesthouses, but you might find a friendly monk or villager willing to take you in. In town, Jíxiáng Hotel , just to the right of the bus station as you exit, is good.
From the Báiyù bus station, the temple is a 2km slog uphill, or find a ride — the mail carriers have been known to give free lifts. Buses depart from the Báiyù station at 7am for Gānzī (¥90, 7½ hours). Minibuses are the only options for Dégé (¥80, four hours) and Lǐtáng (¥170, nine hours).
