The Monastery on Six Peaks: Zizhu Monastery

六峰擎起苯教天，悬寺千载云雾间 Liù fēng qíng qǐ Bénjiào tiān, xuán sì qiān zǎi yúnwù jiān – Six peaks hold up the sky of Bon; a hanging monastery stands a thousand years among clouds

孜珠寺 Zīzhū Sì Zizhu Monastery clings to the cliffs of Zizhu Mountain west of Dengqen county in 西藏自治区昌都市 Xīzàng Zìzhìqū Chāngdū Shì Chamdo, a warren of red-and-white temples wedged into six pointed peaks that Bon tradition treats as a sacred mountain. As one of the principal monasteries of the Yungdrung Bon school – the pre-Buddhist religion of the plateau – it keeps its own canon, its scriptural college and its hermitage caves, and its name means simply “six peaks”, for the six summits that stand in a row above the temple roofs.

The drive up is part of the experience. From the county town the road climbs nearly a thousand meters of switchbacks through red-earth valleys and barley fields, and the last stretch works up the mountain’s own shoulder to a ridge where eagles ride the updrafts and the valley drops away on both sides. Buildings appear where no building should be: halls balanced on ledges, a meditation cell that juts over empty air, and stairways of stone steps worn smooth by centuries of monks’ feet.

Inside, the monastery runs on the old calendar. The assembly hall keeps the Bon pantheon under painted beams, young monks chant to the deep drone of horns and drums, and the caves above the roofs still house retreat meditators who come down only for the great gatherings. Every twelve years, in the bird year, the monastery stages its famous ritual dance in the open air – an event that draws the Bon faithful from across the plateau and has no real equivalent anywhere else.

Few travelers make it here, and that is precisely the reward. The setting at around 4,800 meters is one of the most dramatic of any monastery on the plateau, the community is a living one rather than a stage set, and the whole mountain – its springs, its herbs, its rock arches – reads to believers as a single sacred text. For the visitor it is the far horizon of Chamdo travel: the day is long, the air is thin, and the view from the temple gallery is worth every switchback of the climb.

Practicalities

• From Dengqen county town the monastery road climbs west about 37 kilometers of switchbacks – allow an hour by hired car and a full day from Chamdo via the G317.
• The last stretch is a rough mountain track: go in dry weather and take a driver who knows the road.
• The site stands near 4,800 meters – move slowly, dress warm and carry water even in summer.
• Hours follow the monastic day; mornings are best for the assembly hall and the light on the peaks.

Words and Names

孜珠寺 Zīzhū Sì Zizhu Monastery, “the six peaks”; 雍仲苯教 Yōngzhòng Bénjiào Yungdrung Bon, the ancient religion of the plateau; 丁青 Dīngqīng Dengqen, the county below the mountain; 六座山峰 liù zuò shānfēng the six sacred summits over the temple; 修行洞 xiūxíng dòng the retreat caves of hermit meditators; 神舞 shénwǔ the sacred dance staged every twelve years. Beyond the six peaks, the same 西藏自治区昌都市 Xīzàng Zìzhìqū Chāngdū Shì Chamdo keeps more places worth the detour: 强巴林寺 Qiángbālín Sì the gold-roofed Gelug monastery above two rivers, 卡若遗址 Kǎruò Yízhǐ the Neolithic village site south of town, 然乌湖 Ránwū Hú the glacier lake on the G318, or 盐井古盐田 Yánjǐng Gǔ Yántián the ancient salt terraces of the Lancang – four more doors into the same Chamdo. Once the mountain is behind you, our Chamdo food map fills the table.

flowcloud would say Zizhu is the road trip Chamdo keeps for the faithful few: six peaks, one hanging monastery, and a religion older than the monasteries below – the drive explains the plateau as much as the destination. All checked November 2026.

Getting there: From Dengqen county town the monastery road climbs west about 37 kilometers of switchbacks – allow an hour by hired car and a full day from Chamdo via the G317. The last stretch is a rough mountain track; go in dry weather. All checked November 2026.