Kyunglung

Tirtapuri, Guragem and Kunglung

Tirtapuri (12,000 to 13,000 feet), a monastery with hermit caves, beside the Sutlej River is the third holiest pilgrimage site in western Tibet. It is set among red and white limestone terraces created by sulfur hot springs, which, purportedly, have medicinal benefits. Guragem is a Bonpo monastery also beside the Sutlej. The chief prelate gives audiences in his cave above the valley floor.

A road beside the river arrives at the spectacular multicolored, badland cliffs of Kyunglung, pocked with a multitude of caves, which may have housed troglodyte hermits even in the Paleolithic era. Among the beige, pink green and blue organ pipes are the caves that were inhabited, most recently by Buddhist monks, some painted others with niches for statues and books. Very few people have ever been to Kyunglung, although more will come now that the Chinese have made a road.

We will camp in the meadow area opposite this spectacular site. Returning to Guragem, we will take the road going further West to Tsaparang and Tholing.