Tibet’s last kingdom – Guge Kingdom

This picture is taken at the ruins of Guge Kingdom at Ngari Prefecture in western Tibet. We can still feel the great power of Tibet’s last kingdom, the Guge Kingdom, when we stand by the ruins. The kingdom was said to disappear overnight msteriously, which attracts many curious travelers to travel to Tibet and then march westwards from Lhasa to visit it thought it is a long and hard journey crossing a vast uninhabited desert.

The ruins of Guge were found in today’s Zhada County in western Tibet. It is known as the last kingdom of Tibet and also the highest kingdom as it is located on the ridge of the Roof of the World, as Tibet is called.

The kingdom was founded in the 10th century by Nyi ma mgon who was a great-grandson of Glang Darma, the last monarch of Tubo Kingdom. Its capitals were located at Tholing and Tsaparang. The kingdom created a splendid civilization within 700 years. Records show that Guge once made great religious and economic achievements.

However, its glory was reduced to pieces when the mighty kingdom was involved in a fatal war in the 17th century. The invasion of the neighboring state Ldakah, coupled with the domestic rebellion of Guge monks, brought the kingdom to its knees. Later in 1630, Guge was overthrown by Ladakh. According to records, the slaughter and predation of the war was not enough to exterminate the Guge civilization, but how such a strong kingdom disappeared is still an uncovered secret today. 

Today, what we can see is its ruins that leave us some amazing architecture and ancient paintings. The ruins extend from the mid-ridge of a hill 300 meters high at its peak and cover an area of 720,000 square meters.

445 earthen and wooden structures, 879 caves, 58 blockhouses (a kind of fortification building), four secret tunnels, 28 stupas (traditional pagoda-shaped Buddhist monuments), granaries and weaponry storehouses have been unearthed. But there are still many unknown secrets about the last kingdom in Tibet’s history.

Maybe you will find something else here. Why not take this site in your Tibet tour? Except Tibet entry permit, an Alien’s travel permit is also required for visiting this area. It is easy to get such a permit when you are in Lhasa.