At 4800m this is one of Tibet’s highest monasteries, and its location, strung out along a ridgeline below a series of natural cliffs and caves, is one of the most fantastical you can imagine. This is considered Tibet’s largest and oldest Bön monastery and is home to more than 200 monks. Once you’ve visited the main chapels (there’s debating in the afternoon), walk up to the large natural arch to the left, where ancient wooden ladders lead up the cliff-face to a precarious ridge-top shrine that features a stone footprint of the monastery’s founder inlaid in the floor.
If you have time, it’s well worth walking the kora around the base of Ngon Ri, the mountain to the east. When you reach a small chapel on the south side, climb the kora path to the peak for amazing views. The skies around the cliffs are sometimes full of soaring eagles and vultures, attracted by the sky-burial site in the valley below. The turn-off for Tsedru is 18km past Jinkar Monastery and marked by a blue sign. From here, follow the track over a bridge and, 2km from the highway, turn left up an 11km-long switchback dirt track that climbs 800m to the monastery. All told, it’s a half-day detour.
