Richard AmmonPabonka Monastery is a historical hermitage (founded in the 7th century) about 8 kilometers northwest of Lhasa on the slopes of Mount Parasol. It is well known today partly because it’s the site where ‘sky burials’ take place. Sky burials involve the dismemberment of deceased human corpses and leaving the remains open to the sky where vultures pick off the flesh. The remaining bones are crushed into a powder and also left to the birds.
The monastery has many white stupas repeatedly washed with paint mixed with milk. Above the monastery on the high hills are thousands of prayer flags hung on long ties that stretch across ravines.
