Chiu
The Chiu Monastery is located on top of a low, craggy cliff that overlooks Lake Manasarovar. In Tibetan, Chiu is the word for bird, so this it's also known as the Bird Monastery. The monastery has been a branch of Mt. Kailash's Duraphuk Monastery, which is itself a branch of the Dingboche Monastery near the Yarlung Valley. The main chapel of Chiu is on the second level and is only a small 8m by 10m room. The only notable statue is a large stucco one of Guru Rimpoche. The room on the top of the monastery is the gönkhang, a room where protective deities are kept and worshiped. Below the main chapel is a small Guru Rimpoche cave that is walled with cloth and houses a statue of Guru Rimpoche. It is the most sacred part of the monastery. Some believe that he spent the last seven days of his life in this cave.
