But then we visited Traduk Temple in the Yarlung Valley, some 7 kilometers South of Tsetang. As we wandered through this old and beautiful gompa, we came to one room with a striking gold embellished statue of Guru Rinpoche. I remember reading that the original statue of Guru Rinpoche had been removed from the Crystal Cave for safekeeping and placed in a nearby monastery. This had to be it and, as the monk at the temple explained, so it was.
http://www.astrologysoftware.com/community/tibet/picture.asp?picture=images/35.jpg
It is perhaps the most inspiring image of Guru Rinpoche that I have ever seen. And seeing that statue rekindled my will to visit the cave where it had been all those years and I again resolved to reach Shel-Drak. Something inside me just had to go to the Guru Rinpoche cave at Crystal Mountain. I informed my guide I was going, even if I had to hire a separate vehicle and go by myself. Resigned, our guide turned his attention to helping us figure how to do it.
One thing I knew is that we had to start early, since it would be an All day hike. No one knew just how far away it was. Most of our party elected to not even try, staying instead in the Tsetang area, where our driver would shuttle them from gompa to gompa. Those of us who would try to reach Shel-Drak were myself, my wife, our 15 year old daughter May, and our Tibetan guide.
Read more at :
http://www.astrologysoftware.com/community/tibet/crystal_cave.asp?orig=
