Among the green rolling hills in the Larung Gar Valley in China, the last thing you would expect to see in the countryside are thousands of red wooden huts that have been built in a massive cluster.

Despite its secluded location it is home to the Larung Gar Buddhist Academy, the world's largest Buddhist settlement. A vibrant splash of red, this colorful settlement has sprung up in the 1980s and is now a haven for over 40,000 monks and nuns.

The settlement is home to 40,000 nuns and monks, who flock to study, attend lectures and dwell in the mountains

Local children gather after class on one of the banks in the hilly religious institution. Monks and nuns are segregated by a winding road

The sprawling settlement, Sertar, sits on elevations of 12,500ft, and the religious devotees battle harsh climates to study here. The incredible academy was established in 1980 in the uninhabited valley by Jigme Phuntsok, an influential lama of the Nyingma tradition.

Despite its remote situation, Larung Gar evolved from a handful of disciples to be the largest Buddhist settlement in the world. 

It attracts a mix of students from ethnic Chinese students to pupils from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia, who attend separate classes taught in Mandarin, while larger classes are taught in Tibetan. 

An isolated religious haven, Sertar is located around 370 miles from Chengdu, and those wishing to visit have to travel by coach for a gruelling 20 hours.

TVs are prohibited at the picturesque retreat, with monks and nuns flocking to benefit from the studies, prayers and lectures ran at the academy.

All monks and nuns live close to the college but are housed in different district according the age and sex of students

Prayer forms an important part in the life of the monks who travel from multiple countries to attend lectures and classes in the area

The settlement has grown from a handful of disciples in the 1980s to become one of the largest centres for the study of Tibetan Buddhism

Prayer is undertaken by spinning the decorative prayer wheels which are located around the Buddhist settlement

Monks study after their lessons. Visitors are welcomed into the monastery to learn and witness the classes

Monks pray inside the biggest temple of the town. Inside, children and adults gather on the floor to sing songs

Tibetan monks, also known as lamas, are pictured at a grocery in the Serthar Buddhist Institute in China

Nuns travel to school by walking down the steep verges which can peak at nearly three miles high

Snow covers the surrounding hills of the Larung Gar Buddhist Academy, where conditions can be bleak in the winter months

The resplendent Buddhist monastery is the focal feature of the academy, with a wall to prevent monks and nuns from mingling

At the peak close to the town, monks tie colorful prayer flags as a practical sign of their religious devotion

At night the view of the Serthar Buddhist Institute is magical, with thousands of little lights illuminating the rolling hills

The settlement is also home to a number of Tibetan people who share the land with the monks and nuns

Prayer stones decorate the colourful Buddhist academy, which is only accessible by a long coach journey

Tibetan nuns, also known as lamas, are pictured on a street in the Serthar Buddhist Institute

Source: dailymail.com