Rongbuk Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Tibet Region, China.
Rongbuk monastery lies by the foot of the Rongbuk Glacier at 5,100 metres above sea level, making it the highest religious building, as well as one of the highest-elevation settlements and overall structures ever built. It is only 200 metres lower than the north side Everest Base Camp of Mount Everest. The monastery is accessible today via vehicle by means of an undeveloped road. Prior to this, explorers such as George Mallory and Sandy Irvine had to walk for five weeks from Darjeeling, in the Indian foothills of the Himalaya, to reach this location.
It is accessible by dirt road - a two to three hour drive from the China-Nepal Highway, soon after kilometer marker 5145.
Climbers must pass through Rongbuk in order to reach the highest peak of Mount Everest via the North Face. It has been described as having some of the most dramatic views in the world, presenting a panorama of the Shishapangma, Mount Everest, Cho Oyu, and Gyachung Kang peaks to visitors.
According to Michael Palin, it now houses thirty Buddhist monks and thirty nuns,but another source reports that locals say there are only about 20 nuns and 10 monks, although previously there were about 500 monks and nuns living here.
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