At 250 km from the foot of Mount Kailash, on a huge plateau, on the banks of the Sutlej River, lie the majestic ruins of the once mighty kingdom of Guge.
The ancient ruins lie surrounded by erosion and time-riddled yellow-brown rocks, and the entire area is a vast, lifeless desert.
Trade caravans and pilgrims going to Kailash traveled along the once busy road that in ancient times connected Tibet with India and Turkestan.
The Guge Kingdom occupies an area along the banks of the Upper Sutlej in western Tibet from the Kyunglung Valley (Garuda Valley) to the Indian border. The entire region of the Kingdom of Guge is a complex of canyons, intricately washed out in the ancient rocks of red sandstone.
In ancient sources, the first information about inhabited cities in this area dates back to 2800 BC. Tsaparang is the ruined capital of the ancient kingdom of Guge. In 1685 Tsaparang was conquered by the Muslims. The city was severely damaged. But especially serious destruction was inflicted on the city during the reign of Mao Zedong during the Cultural Revolution in China: many temples, statues and structures were destroyed.
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