Chiu Village To Tholing Zanda & Guge Kingdom

---

---

Chiu Village to Tholing Zanda (3650m) & The Guge Kingdom

Day 6 - Chiu Village to Tholing Zanda (Tsaparang)

Another early morning start and as we loaded the jeep we bid farewell to the quaint village with its beautiful lakeside setting and headed to the somewhat less picturesque town of Darchen for a breakfast of spicey noodles and coffee (not a combo to be recommended). The briefest of trips to one of Tibet's worst toilets and we were finally set for the long drive to the little frequented Guge Kingdom.

We were warned about the lack of tarred road in this area, but dodging roadworks , trucks and cement mixers high on mountain passes proved more of an adventure than we'd bargained for, we clung on for dear life!!
All the hardships of this stretch paled into insignificance as the scenery around us became more and more magical and other wordly with each twist and turn. At first the hills were the grey/yellow rocky screes we'd become accustomed to, then bold streaks of purple and green appeared, as if large vats of paint had been upturned. Next we were greeted by verdent slopes with grazing sheep, before finally seeing what we'd come for........

Dramatic cliffs of molten-looking mud and sand that had been weathered for centuries, into glorious sculptured creations that seemed straight out of a fantasy novel. The effect was that of a massive 'grand canyon' though on a much larger, and more dramatic scale. Not content with viewing this spectacle from above, we dove down to its bottom, becoming engulfed (and almost lost...literally....)in its depths. Geographers will tell you most of Tibet was once under the sea, and this landscape proved it for me!! I was reminded of the underwater classic 'The Abyss', the only difference being that we were now approx 4500m ABOVE sea level! Caves peered out at us from the most unlikely of locations, suggesting hidey holes used in days gone by.

Pushing on to avoid the soaring heat and dust that surrounded us as we battled through unmade roads and tracks and more than the odd patch of soft sand, we eventually arrived at the lush banks of the Sutlej river (the trees and shrubs seemed scarily out of place in this eerie desert world). The Sutlej is a river we have encountered before in Northeren India, a place that seems very far from us now even though its only a few hundered kilometers as the crow flies.

More caves were nestled into the base of the cliffs here, and an exhausted driver was only too grateful for a break as we set off to explore.
We discovered an ancient network of rooms, some appeared to be sleeping quarters, some for animals, most contained 'shelves' and nooks carved into the soft sandstone/mudstone, that seemed to be for candles, or your alarm clock!! It was the perfect location to shelter... beautiful views, near the life-giving waters of the river and much needed shade from the unforgiving high-altitude sun. We took time to imagine ourselves living in a place where time has not only stood still, but barely figured in this romantic, ageless place. Then to burst our bubble, we found a recently used cave, complete with fag packets and goat feet left over from the nomad's last meal!!

We crossed the river to the town of Tholiing Zanda, set on the south bank. It was once a thriving monastery town with several hundred monks, and one of the area's most important monasteries. Sadly the Chinese have moved in, and even in this remote setting, neon lights and concrete have taken over, making the traditional Tibetan homes look very humble indeed. Ignoring all the modernisation, we were still able to enjoy the stunning backdrop of caves, prayer flags and castle-like structures that loomed atmospherically over the town.

We checked into a rather swish, modern hotel (the Chinese aren't all bad!), and headed off to the local 'shower shop', (most traditional Tibetan homes and guest houses don't have the luxury of indoor plumbing, and thus a bathroom..this was to be our first opportunity to get clean!)The shower shop provided individual cubicles, with a locker and hot and cold running water, though our one had no lock so I resorted to singing all sorts of nonsense songs to warn people of our presence (thank goodness for all those days working in nurseries) There was no time limit, so we stayed until we were thoroughly sterilised!!
Next we had to settle our rumbling stomachs, and our guide took us to a local eatery run by an elderly chinese couple.Once again we were grateful for Dhondup's fabulous language skills and tucked into dumplings and spicey noodle soup. We were waited on hand and foot by the friendly owner, who offered us endless choices of chilli dipping sauce, suprised that we could handle the heat, and made sure our green tea never ran dry. Meanwhile we watched as his wife skillfully made dumpling (bit like wontons, or mini cornish pasties) after dumpling whilst watching her favourite soap opera, her fingers moved at lightning speed and she had soon made 2 trays full!!
With smiles, head nods and various hand gestures we managed to say thankyou and pay before setting off to watch the late night sunset over the town.
We wandered down the main street and discovered some beautiful old chortens, and the main monastery, which we would explore fully with Dhondup later on. We also found the town's main Square or park, beautifully maintained with jungle gym equipment, flowers, stage and marquee area. It seemed that this was the place to be after dinner and many locals were singing, dancing and having fun in what must act as the local community centre. The only downer on this homely scene was the ever watchful armed guards stationed directly opposite.
Walking back to our hotel, we were fascinated to see what looked like bizarre satellite dishes lining the streets outside nearly every cafe and shop. On closer inspection we found them to be rather ingenious solar powered kettles! Firewood is virtually non-existent in Tibet and the main fuel sources are Yak and sheep dung...but these still need to be collected and dried before use, so locals make use of what is available in abundance, and for free, the sun. A metal teapot sits in the middle of a highly reflective convex metal dish, and much like popping ants with a magnifying glass, the whole contraption is angled toward the sun beaming its strong rays directly onto the pot. Hey presto an environmentally sound kettle !!(Guy stuck his hand in the beam, and yes, it was indeed very hot) Could these little gadgets be the answer to global warming??

After such a long day we were only too pleased to flop onto our lovely clean beds with the telly!



Day- 7 Tsaparang Citadel & Tholing Monastery (Guge Kingdom)

Refreshed after a great nights sleep we headed off in the jeep to the nearby Tsaparang citadel, (old capital of the Guge Kingdom,) the undisputed jewel in the crown for this province.
We had barely made it to the checkpoint at the town's perimeter, when we we surrounded by a very noisy flock of goats, sheep and a laughing tibetan shepherd who did his best to help clear a path, (our driver decided that beeping his horn, and more amusingly for us, making strange animal noises was a much better tactic) Soon we left the rabble behind, and checkpoint completed we were off once again into the magical mud landscape.
During the short drive we were able to see first hand all the efforts being made to grow food, trees and shrubs using the river as a natural resource. Tree nurseries, paddy fields, and even greenhouses littered the river bed, aiming i'm sure to provide the whole town with veggies and much sought after timber.

Above us was a different story, old forts, villages and places of worship, lay quietly nestled into the rock and cliffs, a hint at what lay ahead.
Quick history lesson.......

Tsaparang Citadel: A 9th century fortress that was home to the great Guge king 'Yeshe O' (10th century), along with several thousand villagers and some of the most influential and educated monks in Buddhist history (notably Rinchen Zangpo who, after 17yrs travelling and studying in nearby India, returned and set up 108 monasteries, bringing with him the best artists from Kashmir and an encyclopedic knowledge of ancient sanskrit)
Sadly all this prosperity was short-lived and after a brief brush with christian missionaries in the mid 17th century (the monks were outraged that their king would turn his back on their buddhist traditions and called the army from Ladakh to sort him out!) the citadel lay empty, the kingdom collapsed and was pretty much left alone and abandoned til the early 20th century.

Lucky for us...it meant that the monastery murals and most of the buildings were intact, even surviving the cultural revolution for the most part. We set off with our guide to explore the beautiful ruins, most of what remained were (obviously) the most important, and therefore best built structures, the chapels, monasteries and palaces...unfortunately the villagers' homes have not survived the harsh environment and small outlines are all that remain.
The entire hillside was composed of a mixture of caves, narrow alleyways, steep steps and stairways, meditation spots, storerooms and the like, all made from local mudstone bricks, or carved into the hillside itself.

The first of the holy places we visited was the White chapel, with some of the most stunning and well preserved murals from the 15th and 16th century, depicting not only religious deities and traditions, but also, (maybe uniquely for a chapel) scences of everyday life. Also this chapel still housed 10 of an original 22 life-sized statues of the various incarnations of Buddha, as well as some seriously scary Protector gods, found guarding the entrance.

Next was the Red Chapel, built in about, 1470, again, adorned with beautful floor to ceiling murals, that this time showed the building of temple, with elegant elephants and other animals carrying timber, craftsman and builders hard at work and finally a huge scene showing the massive celebration party that was held at the completion of the project. There were musicians blowing enourmous trumpets, (puffed out cheeks and all!)The finely robed king and queen heading up the colourful procession and plenty of monks dotted about. The mural certainly paints a picture of enourmous wealth, and opulance.
My favourite part was a small corner that seemed to revere all the animals found in Tibet: snow leopard, deer, rabbits, bears, wolves,eagles, and vultures.

We climbed our way through the maze of alleys and stoney steps, sometimes walking very close to rather precarious cliff edges (gulp) in the ever increasing midday sun, amazed at every twist and turn by some of the most stunning 360' views, until we reached the top level.
Here was the Summer Palace. A modest, yet bright and airy four-roomed affair, recently re-decorated with traditional bright Tibetan images and motifs, from floor to ceiling. For me the most stunning and unexpected aspect was the balcony... yes a magnificent balcony with panoramic views truly fit for a king!

Meeting up with a friendly young Chinese couple, Guy decided to do some REAL exploring, and dissappeared down what appeared to be a nothing more than a rabbit hole........
He was gone for little more than 10mins, but long enough for our guide to start asking me awkward questions as to his whereabouts, explaining that last year a tourist had toppled off the edge whilst taking a photo!!
Luckily Guy reappeared with the Chinese couple and delighted in telling the guide how they'd discovered what must be the secret, underground 'Winter Palace' The 'stairs' that led steeply down into the rabbit warren of caves and rooms hollowed out into the rock, had long since rubbed away, leaving only a slippery slope to the underground world. Dhondup explained that the rooms were at least 12m deep, and provided both a sanctuary from the harsh winters, as well as invaders. It was also the start of a secret passageway out of the mountain, used either for escape, or to gain access to water and supplies in times of seige.

Still marvelling at the scale and ingenuity of the magical hillside kingdom, we found the monks quarters, complete with (very) long drop toilets, prayer flags, walls skirting the sheer drops, as well as complex channels and guttering that helped with drainage, and water preservation most structures being
built of rock, carved stones and covered in clay, not much wood was used at all , it was too precious for most buildings,and was kept just for the monastery and chapels.

We reluctantly made our way out from the complex, and leaving our very hot guide in the shade with a coke, we set off (indiana-jones style) to find out for ourselves whether the rumour of a mummy in one of the caves down the valley was true....
Exploring a small gully that led to the Sutlej, we squelched our way for several hundred metres through boggy, sticky mud, before Guy found a decent place to scramble up the scree to another collection of small caves. Being the braver of us two, he had the job of climbing up several feet of rock to peer in each one...checking for human remains. Then I helpfully noticed one further downstream with a ladder...hey presto we found the mummy!! Not as beautiful as we'd hoped, more a jumbled heap of bones, skulls, rags and hair (at least several different remains all piled together)
Exhausted and elated we trudged back to find our driver a guide and headed back past all the stunning scenery to the hotel to relax.

That evening with Dhondup at our side we walked back through the town to properly visit the famous Tholing Monastery. As mentioned before, this was once a very important 10th century monastery, founded by Rinchen Zangpo, and was very much a thriving, working monastery until 1966 when the red guards shut it down as part of the cultural revolution. It was named after the sound of a bell (tho.....ling....bit like ding dong) because legend has it the site was chosen by the toss of a bell, and when it landed it made 'Tholing'!
Massive repairs and renovations were underway, and we dodged carpenters and plasterers as we were shown around by one of the nine monks. We were proudly shown one of the main chapels where a European team of four had spent several years painstakingly renovating and preservingg its gorgeous murals... some sadly had been lost forever due to damp and neglect, but at least skilled, interested people were trying their best to preserve what they could. We saw an old medieval stlye kitchen with massive dung burning stoves, and what can only be described as cauldrons swinging overhead, as well as an electric blender and kettle in the corner!
The protector chapel seemed the most poopular chapel here, stuffed full of offerings of yak butter, barley, and booze, (for the gods of course!) We met several devotees as we wandered about. Sadly though, the main chapel was locked, and even after some frantic phonecalls the key holder could not be found.
Slowly slowly it seemed that new life was being breathed into this beautiful place. It was set on the high cliff-top above the sutlej, and combined old mud-carved chortens with 'modern white plastered ones , all decorated with mani stones, and prayer flags, and with all the work going on, we felt that a few more years and it would be returned to its former glory.

Dhondup headed back to the hotel and we continued our wanderings in the late evening sun along the'cliff top'.Here we discovered two parallel rows of whitewashed chortens at least 100 strong, with a well worn path through the stoney ground. The path led us on a cicuit, or Kora around the chortens to a mass of colourful prayer flags, mani stones and carved animal skulls and horns. We took our time ambling around, looking up behind us to the hills and forward to the lush river valley below.
Making our way back through the 'park', we eventually flopped, kanckered from avery full day!

---

Photos

Climbing down into the winter palace
The palace was carved 12m down into the clay