Located on the north slope of Mount Everest in Tingri County, Shigatse, Tibet, the Rongbuk Glacier is distributed at the vast region at the foot of Mount Everest with an altitude of 5,300 meters above sea level. It is the most fully developed and well-preserved unique glacier valley form in the world.
The glaciers have various natural landscapes of magnificent ice towers, ice bridges, ice mushrooms, ice caves, etc. There are not only more than 10 meters high ice cliffs, ice cracks with hidden traps at every step, but also dangerous areas of ice-fall and avalanches. In 2005, the Rongbuk Glacier was named as the 1st one of the top six most beautiful glaciers in China because of such wonderful scenery.
Mount Everest area is the activity center of the continental glaciers in China. There are 15 glaciers with an area of more than 10 square kilometers, among which the largest and most famous is the Rongbuk Glacier, which is 26 kilometers long and covers an area of 85.4 square kilometers. Rongbuk Glacier, located at the foot of Mount Everest at an altitude of 5,300 meters to 6,300 meters, is composed of three glaciers in the east, middle and west. The three glaciers converge and extend to the north to support the mighty Mount Everest. Mt.Everest is like a giant pyramid, the summit straight into the sky. The glacier tongue of Rongbuk Glacier is 1.4 kilometers wide and 120 meters thick on average, and the thickest point is more than 300 meters. It is one of the most spectacular landscapes in Tibet.
The local famous Rongbuk Monastery is located on the top of the "Duoma (Dumu)" mountain, which is on the east and west sides of Rongbuk valley. It's 90 km away from the county residence. With an altitude of more than 5,100 meters above sea level and a cold climate, Rongbuk Monastery is the highest monastery in the world with wonderful landscapes. Rongbuk Monastery is a Ningmapa temple in Tibetan Buddhism and a monastic temple for nuns and monks. Founded in 1899 by the Red Sect Lama Awang Tenzin Robb, Rongbuk Monastery is located at the end of Rongbuk Glacier at the north foot of Mount Everest, about 20 meters from the summit of Mount Everest, and it is also the base camp for climbing Mount Everest from the north slope. Looking south from here, you can see Mount Everest like a huge pyramid, towering among the peaks, which makes you feel daunting.
Rongbuk River, located at the foot of the mountain where Rongbuk Monastery is located, is an ice-water spring formed by three glaciers on the North Slope of Mount Everest -- East Rongbuk Glacier, Middle Rongbuk Glacier, and West Rongbuk Glacier. The Rongbuk River is also a strong proof of the glaciers' receding. According to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 40 million years ago, 100 million cubic meters of water flowed into the Rongbuk River from the end of the Rongbuk Glacier every year, and now the Rongbuk River seems to be turbulent. But the wide riverbed is mostly deposited sedimentary round stones. Obviously, in the history of near or far, they had been soaked and scoured, and now they can only be exposed under the sun.
The low latitude, strong solar radiation, and microclimate differences on the surface of the Rongbuk Glaciers have caused the different melting rates of the ice surface, therefore creating many marvelous sceneries. Due to this reason, it is known as the world's largest high mountain park by mountaineers.
The most amazing is the variety of ice towers. On the Rongbuk Glacier, there is a 5.5-kilometer-long belt of ice towers. Milky ice towers rise from the ground, one after another, reaching tens of meters in height. Some are like majestic pyramids, some are like the solemn ancient bell tower, some like sharp swords puncturing the sky, some are like docile giraffes strolling peacefully, and all are dazzling. There is a mirror-like ice lake in the ice towers, as the crystal under the sun and out of beautiful color.
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