The Reting Monastery, about 160 kilometres (100 miles) northeast along a bone-jarring road from the regional capital of Lhasa and 4100 metres above sea level, offers spiritual respite from the rugged terrain. The monastery, built in 1056 and partially destroyed by Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution 40 years ago, sits against the mountain, its white walls contrasting with the magnificent Himalayan junipers that surround it. The phenomenal beauty is one of the reasons Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has said he would choose to live at Reting, rather than Lhasa, should he ever return from his exile of nearly 50 years.
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