located in the remote, mountainous area of china’s garze tibetan autonomous prefecture, larung gar is the largest buddhist settlement in the world, with 40,000 monks and nuns drawn to its larung wuming buddhist institute for study.

living in tightly packed wooden huts spreading over and up the hilly terrain, conditions for the village residents are basic, with the segregated monks and nuns sharing communal toilets, and huts left unheated throughout the harsh winter months.

established by an influential lama of the nyingma tradition some thirty years ago in a then uninhabited valley, the settlement quickly grew, attracting a mix a students from china, taiwan, singapore and malaysia.

the settlement welcomes everyone, including the tibetan buddhist nomads seen in several photos, with the monks and nuns living off donations and revenue from a guest house built for those who make the twenty hour coach ride from chengdu.