Morning prayers, Rongbuk, Tibet
Morning prayer session by monks, with cymbals, drums and "dungchen", a long horn, in Rongbuk Buddhist Monastery in Tibet. It is near the base of the north side of Mount Everest at 5,009 metres above sea level, the world's highest (but one) monastery. It was founded in 1902 but was completely destroyed by the excesses of China's Cultural Revolution (1966-1976); by 1974, all that was left was ruins. However, since 1983, renovation work has been carried out, and it is now a nice-looking small monastery. Previously, about 500 monks and nuns lived here, but now there are only about twenty nuns and ten monks.