Tsaparang :

It is half an hour’s drive from Thada. The ruins of a wall and castle lay on a hillside, which was the most important remains of the Guge Kingdom. Built against the hillside, the castle penetrated the skyline at its highest point, while on the northeastern side of the hill there were seven earthen forts and three temples each about 10 meters high. The hillside was honeycombed with many caves—whose tunnels ran in all directions. A fortification wall built of yellow earth on which many carvings of the Buddha could still be discerned surrounded the entire complex. To the south of the castle were the remains of a building. The roof had since collapsed and it now lay open to the sky. The walls were blackened by smoke and fire, but the vestiges could still be seen distinctly. Outside the castle, there were three temples; the red temple, the white temple and the Samsara temple, situated half way up the hillside. The upturned eaves of the temples were decorated with carvings of animals such as lion, elephant, horse and peacock, which were directly linked with the four “Sacred rivers”.

 Mt. Kailash:

It is considered as the most sacred mountain by Buddhists and Hindus alike. Buddhists believe it to be the axis of Mt. Sumeru, the central mountain amidst the four continents of the old concept of the world. Hindus believe it to be the throne of Shiva. Kailash is very beautiful in an appearance, thickly covered with snows and hovering dominantly above its surrounding peaks though its altitude is “only” 6,714 meters. From Trada we drove directly to Darchen. Nestling at the foot of Mt. Kailash. Darchen was a tent village, 6 km’s away from the main road.