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Comprising more than 1/3 of China’s entire landmass, the Tibetan Plateau is an enormous expanse of sparsely populated, wind-swept plains and tremendous mountains. With an average elevation of 16,000 feet, the intense summer sun makes for hot days while the rarified air sends night-time temperatures well below freezing. Accenting the dramatic and awe-inspiring landscape is the region’s complex history, as well as an aesthetic that has been dually shaped by both the simplicity of the religion and the harshness of the natural environment. Nestled amidst towering peaks are majestic, and elaborately ornamented monasteries, Buddhist stupas, and islands of fluttering prayer flags. Above stretch cerulean skies, and surrounding the modest rural and nomadic communities in which we stay are flowering grasslands, glacial lakes, and alpine valleys. Truly, Tibet offers the opportunity to explore an experience a region that is one of the most remote, culturally rich, and challenged places on Earth.

Beginning our program in Lhasa, we meet with esteemed lamas, development workers, scholars from Lhasa University, and traditional doctors from the Mentsekang Hospital. At twilight, we make our way around Tibet’s most revered religious structure, the Jokhang Temple, amidst throngs of pilgrims and devout locals—gaining merit for the journey ahead. We visit the original home of the Dalai Lama, the Potala Palace, and the many surrounding monasteries such as Sera and Drepung, still alive with friendly monks who are ready to welcome you in as they chant at sunrise, debate in the afternoon, or make offerings in the silence of the evening. In Lhasa, we witness the remarkable story of a culture that has been living under occupation; we discover the heart and depth of devotion; and we take with us upon leaving a profound understanding of perseverance.

Once oriented to the day-to-day lives of urban Tibetans—and once acclimatized to our 11,000-foot elevation—we push into higher rural areas, where life is a bit different. Here, life for many families continues much as it has for hundreds of years. Surrounded by stunning high-elevation grasslands, most of Tibet’s agrarian and nomadic families raise yaks and dri, or female yaks, on which they rely for meat and dairy products—staple to the local diet. Determined by Buddhist mythology, monasteries and nunneries have been built in strategic locations marking the most important power places of the region. Our first camp is at Terdrom Nunnery, where we perch our tents above a mystical valley, soak in medicinal hot springs, explore meditation caves, and adventure into the surrounding mountains. From Terdrom, we embark on a 4-day trek to Drigung Monastery, where we observe prayer and meditation practices, and confront the site of the Tibetan sky burial, an officially “restricted” Buddhist tradition that so perfectly illustrates the religion’s ideology of impermanence.

From Drigung, we travel to Ganden and partake in a dramatic evening walk circumambulating the enormous monastic complex at sunset. Depending on group strength, interest, and environmental conditions, we consider gearing up for a second trek, connecting the Ganden Monastery with that at Samye, which is the oldest in Tibet. Samye is our jumping-off point for exploration of the Chimpu retreat caves, where hermits spend ten to twenty years in deep meditation, and a primary site for our look into the history of Tibetan Buddhism.

From Samye, we return to Lhasa and board a flight to Xining, the capital of China’s Qinghai Province, further north on the Tibet/Qinghai Plateau. Historically, the Tibetan Empire was vast, stretching far beyond the current borders of the Chinese-appointed Tibetan Autonomous Region. South and east of Xining are the border province regions of Amdo and Kham. Politically distinct from central Tibet, these are areas that remain remarkably well-preserved. Kham, in particular, is both an ecological and cultural stronghold that is very important to the whole of the Tibetan community. Free of the restrictions that limit the depth of our interactions in and around Lhasa, we enjoy opportunities to participate in home-stays and service projects in communities like Dzogchen and Karze. Completing our overland journey through Dartsedo to finally reach Chengdu, we reach the end-point of our course: a contemporary Chinese city of over 10 million. A shocking transition, our final days in Chengdu provide us with a fascinating environment in which to reflect upon the remarkable beauty and resilience of the unique culture that we came to know along the way.