Guge Kingdom

གུ་གེ་རྒྱལ་རབས་ in the Tibetan language. Guge means syllable. Guge is known as one of the last kingdoms. 

History

King Tri Darma U Tum Tsen  ཁྲི་དར་མ་ཨུ་དུམ་བཙན་ Also known as Lang Darma is the brother of the great Dharma king Ralpachen. During his brief reign, he almost eradicates sutra Buddhism. He was assassinated by Palgyi Dorje in the year 906.

After the assassination of King Tri Darma U Tum Tsen, his son Prince Kyi Dey Nyima Gyon ran away towards the western Tibet Ngari and ruled many places in Ngari including Purang, Shangshung, and Tsanda. Later in the year 960, his middle son Tashi Gyon ruled the western Tibet Ngari by making the Guge central for nearly 700 years until 1618. They were around twenty kings in those 700 years.

Modern Day Guge

Travelers can visit the Red Palace and the White Palace. Many clay caves are the homes of locals during the reign of the Guge Kings. Guge is a border town between Ladakh in Kashmir. There is around 290km from Guge kingdom to Ngari city Ali and around 270km to Darchen town near Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar. 

The town of the Guge Kingdom is known as Tada, Tsanda, and Tsaparang.  There is 18km from Tada Town to the Guge Kingdom ruins. Tada Town is known as one of the lowest-altitude towns in Ngari prefecture. The altitude is 3600 meters — nearly similar elevation to Lhasa. 

The opening time is 08:00 am to 07:00 pm. There is no accommodation at the Guge Kingdom ruins. Travelers will have to stay a night at Tada Town. 

Photo: The Toling monastery

The Guge Kingdom is known as one of the best places to see the beauty of wall paintings in western Tibet Ngari. 

Top Ten sightseeing nearby

1. Toling monastery
2. Dungkar Piyang wall paintings
3. Tadapuri Hotspring
4. Shangshung ruins
5. Mount Kailash
6. Lake Manasarovar
7. Purang
8. Ngari city 
9. Nagtso Lake
10. Pangong Tso Lake

Nearest Hospital

1. Small hospital at Tada town (18km)
2. Larg Hospital at Ngari Ali City (290km) 

Nearest airport

1. Ngari Ali City Gunsa Airport

Photo: Yellow clay hill view of nature near the Guge 

Guge is also an essential spiritual place in Tibet. Many great Indian masters including JowoJe Maha Guru Atisha traveled to Tibet by western Tibet. There were also rumors that once a Christian church flourished near Guge. 

Conclusion

The Guge Kingdom's nature has similarities with Ladakh. There was a historical war between these two kingdoms many centuries ago.

Tibet Travelers arrange 17 days Join Group Tibet Tour to Mount Kailash & Guge Kingdom.  We can also arrange a customized trip to the Guge Kingdom for Travelers. Travelers can send us Emails regarding traveling to the Guge Kingdom. info@tibettravelers.com