Ringmo Traditional Bön Village

Nestled peacefully upon an ancient glacial moraine terrace at an elevation of approximately 3,640 meters, Ringmo Village (रिङ्मो गाउँ) is an enchanting cultural enclave situated on the immediate southern shore of Shey Phoksundo Lake within Shey Phoksundo National Park. Inhabited by around two hundred residents of the indigenous Dolpo-pa community, Ringmo represents one of the most authentic surviving strongholds of Yungdrung Bön—the ancient spiritual tradition of Tibet that predated the arrival of Buddhism in the trans-Himalayas. The settlement presents an intact vision of traditional mountain architecture, with tightly clustered flat-roofed houses constructed from dry-stacked slate and massive pine beams, surrounded by stone-walled corrals for yaks and mountain sheep. Massive carved Bön mani stone walls line the pathways, uniquely circumambulated in an anti-clockwise direction according to Bön doctrine. High on the rocky cliff above the village perches the 900-year-old Tshowa Gompa (Thasung Tsholing). Serving as the vital community, cultural, and homestay base for all expeditions to the Phoksundo basin, Ringmo preserves an extraordinary harmony between human heritage and alpine wilderness.