From the small hilltop village of Bir you will follow a trail to an important Buddhist monastery hidden amongst the pine trees.

Entering the inner courtyard you may hear the reverberation of young novice monks chanting their recitations. Inside the main prayer hall, you’ll come face to face with a two-storey golden Maitreya Buddha, the interior’s most alluring feature.

The Sherab Ling monastery is the seat of the exiled Tai Situpa, one of the highest-ranking Black Hat Lamas of Tibetan Buddhism. And one of the monks will show you around.