Tsaparang

In the far west of Tibet, the upper Sutlej has cut a maze of eroded clay and gravel into towers, fins and terraces, and on one of these natural pyramids stand the remains of a capital. Tsaparang was the seat of the kings of Guge, a realm that grew up in the 10th century and controlled a trade route between India and Tibet. Seen from the valley, it is hard at first to tell where the hill ends and the city begins: the fortress climbs a rock some 150 to 180 metres high, its walls built from the same pale earth as the slopes, and the face of the hill is riddled with caves, tunnels and stairways carved into it. The site lies at about 3,800 metres, in a landscape of dun and ochre under a hard blue sky.

Guge mattered far beyond its size. In the 11th century its king Yeshe-Ö set about restoring Buddhism in western Tibet after a period of decline, inviting teachers and founding monasteries, and the region became one of the channels through which Indian Buddhist learning and art reached the plateau. Tsaparang also holds a curious place in European history. In 1624 the Portuguese Jesuit António de Andrade arrived here, won the king's permission to preach, and built a church – among the first Christian missions in Tibet. It lasted only a few years: in 1630 Ladakh, under Senge Namgyal, invaded and overthrew the kingdom, and a later attempt to reach the missionaries ended with their rescuer captured. In 1679–80 the region passed to the government in Lhasa under the Fifth Dalai Lama.

What draws visitors now is the painting. On the lower part of the site stand the Lhakhang Marpo and Lhakhang Karpo, the Red and White Temples, and on top of the hill, beside the royal quarters, the small Demchok Mandala chapel. Much was lost – most statues and many murals were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution – but the surviving walls still carry densely painted Buddhas, tantric deities, protectors and teachers, with a richness of colour and line that makes Guge's school one of the recognised styles of Tibetan art. The contrast is part of the experience: an empty, crumbling city of earth outside, and inside a few dim rooms, walls that are still crowded with figures.

Getting there

Tsaparang lies in Zanda County of Ngari Prefecture, about 26 km west of Tholing monastery in the county town of Zanda, which is the usual base. The nearest airport is Ngari Gunsa (NGQ), around 80 km away in a straight line and considerably further by the mountain roads; the prefectural seat at Shiquanhe in Gar County is about 120 km away as the crow flies. Visits are normally arranged as part of an overland journey through western Tibet with a vehicle and guide.