The hermitage of Tridum is located in the valley that branches north of the Shorong Tsongpo valley a few kilometers before Mepa township at the base of Drigung Til. The approach to the hermitage (Altitude: 4,500 meters) follows a narrow but drivable track that ascends a precipitous cliff above the Rep-chu River and comes to a halt at a vantage point overlooking a gorge, replete with aromatic herbs and containing a medicinal hot-spring (Chutsen Chugang) and an important nunnery.
In 772 when King Trisong Detsen offered his queen Yeshe Tsogyel to Padmasambhava, hostile Bonpo aristocrats forced the master and his new consort to flee the royal court for the sanctuary of the limestone caves and hot springs of Tridum. Padmasambhava concealed a number of treasures (terma) in the Kiri Yangdzong cave above Tridum, which were discovered in later centuries by Dorje Lingpa, Drigung Rinchen Phuntsok, and others.
Yeshe Tsogyel herself remained in meditation at Tridum for many years, for which reason the original nunnery was constructed at this particular site. The earliest buildings appear to date from the Kadampa period, but reconstruction has taken place on a number of occasions, currently, there are around 50 nuns and retreaters.
