Tsaparang

Tsaparang

The ruins of Tsaparang
Location within Tibet Autonomous Region#Location within Ngari Prefecture Show map of Tibet Tsaparang (Ngari) Show map of Ngari
Location	Zanda, Ngari, Tibet Autonomous Region, China
Region	Tibet
Coordinates	31°27′59″N 79°40′14″E / 31.46639°N 79.67056°E / 31.46639; 79.67056
Altitude	3,800 m (12,467 ft)
History
Founded	9th or 10th century CE
Abandoned	1680 CE

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Tsaparang (Tibetan: རྩ་བྲང, Wylie: rtsa-brang^[1]) was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Guge in the Garuda Valley, through which the upper Sutlej River flows, in Ngari Prefecture (Western Tibet) near the border of Ladakh. It is 278 km south-southwest of Senggezangbo Town and 26 km west of the 11th-century monastery at Tholing, and not far west of Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar. The Tsaparang Dzong was located here. Nearby is the Bon monastery of Gurugem.^[2]

Tsaparang is a huge fortress perched on a pyramid-shaped rock rising about 500 to 600 feet (152 to 183 m) at the end of a long narrow spur. It contains numerous tunnels and caves that have been carved out of the rock. At its base was a village where the common people lived. Above them were two public temples - the Lhakhang Marpo (Red Chapel) and the Lhakhang Karpo (White Chapel), and quarters for the monks. Up, a twisting stone staircase in a tunnel were the royal quarters, and at the very top, the summer palace.^[3]

The English TV presenter and historian Michael Wood, in the "Shangri-La" episode of the BBC TV/PBS documentary series In Search of Myths and Heroes, suggested that Tsaparang was the historical origin of the legend of Shangri-La, and that its two great temples were once home to the kings of Guge in modern Tibet.