Tibetan Buddhist Monastery

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"Next, we trained and bussed our way up the Silk Road until we reached the village of Xiahe (ele. 10,000 ft.), home to the largest monastery of Tibetan Buddhism outside of Lhasa. It is a deeply moving place where lives of the people are hard and drenched in spirituality. Rachel (foreground) is standing on the Pilgrims Way, a 1.6 mile path dotted with prayer wheels encircling the monastery. The villagers walk the path twice a day, everyday, all year."