Brahmaputra River View

On our pilgrimage out to Samye Monastery - Tibet's first monastery that was built in the 8th century located a few hours outside of Lhasa - we climbed this hill to visit Guru Rinpoche's hermitage overlooking the valely below. To the right (not visible in this photo) you can see the Samye Mandala of the monastery grounds, and when looking ahead (visible in this photo) you are able to glimpse the mighty Brahmaputra River (Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan) - starting its source near Mount Kailash in West Tibet, stretching all the way across the Tibetan Plateau and then traveling south into India and Bangladesh, where upon it runs into the Indian Ocean. This is the naural cycle of water in this part of the world. It starts as steam from the Indian Ocean, lifts up to the high peaks of the Himalayas, then melts from the sun and travels back down the mountain, to again be united with the mighty ocean.