Tsaparang is the ruined capital of the Guge Kingdom, carved into and onto a dramatic cliff above the Sutlej River valley in the far west of Tibet. The site consists of hundreds of rooms, corridors, and tunnels cut into a towering earthen outcrop, with temples, palaces, and fortifications stacked from the valley floor to the summit. Despite being largely abandoned for four centuries, many of the interior chapels retain exceptional murals — 10th to 17th century paintings of considerable artistic sophistication, depicting Buddhist cosmology in vivid colours that survive because the extreme aridity of western Tibet preserves organic materials almost indefinitely.
Getting to Tsaparang requires a dedicated day trip of about 90 kilometres from the nearest town of Tholing. The road follows the Sutlej valley through arid canyon country, and the approach to the ruins — a great earthen mass rising from the flat valley floor — is memorable. The site requires a local permit obtainable in Ali or Tholing, and admission is charged. Guides are not always available; a Chinese or Tibetan-reading guide who can identify the murals and their iconography significantly enriches the visit.