Dzongsar Monastery & Maisu Valley
宗萨寺·麦宿
A renowned Sakya monastery on a hilltop above the Maisu Valley. Maisu Township is a home of traditional Tibetan crafts, famous for knives, woodcarving and thangkas.
Dzongsar Monastery sits on a hilltop in Maisu Township, south of Derge County. It is an important Sakya monastery and one of the birthplaces of the Rimé (non-sectarian) movement in modern Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche originates here. In the valley below, the climate is mild, and Maisu is known as a home of traditional Tibetan crafts. Visitors can see knife forging, woodcarving, thangka painting and pottery workshops. It is about 60 km from Derge County town, reached from the Gangtuo direction along a tributary of the Jinsha River. The road is narrow, so allow a full day.
Opening hours
Open daytime