Start: Darchen 塔钦
1. Tirthapuri Monastery 芝达布日寺
2. Tirthapuri Hotspring 芝达布日温泉
3. Gurugyam Monastery 故如甲木寺
4. Khyunglung 穹窿银城
5. Zanda Earth Forest 札达士林
End: Zanda 札达县
Tirthapuri Monastery 芝达布日寺
Tirthapuri is the third most important Buddhist pilgramage site in western Tibet behind Mt Kailash and Lake Manasarovar. It is at the northwest of Mt Kailash and the north bank of the Sutlej River. Tirthapuri Monastery is also known as Guru Rinpoche monastery. It was founded as a Nyingma school but later changed to the Kagyu school.
The door was closed when we first arrived so we went for a round of kora. By the time we got back, one side of the main door was opened. The guide went to look for the monastery's caretaker to unlock the door of the main hall so we went up the roof to have a look.
After the visit as we did another kora, on reaching a rock with a hole, the guide asked us to each pull out a stone without looking inside. Good thing that we both pulled out white stones because that was a karma-testing station. If the stone is white, then you are good person, else not. However most information I read said to pull out two stones, if both are white then your karma is excellent. One white and one black means it's ok; and if both are black then you are not a good person.
Tirthapuri Hotspring 芝达布日温泉
Tirthapuri hotsprings are shallow and said to be like two dug out pools. We only soak our feet in the very warm water. I initially thought I had to give this a miss as I didn't bring any swimsuit. I don't know how it missed seeing the word 'hotspring' even though I went through the itinerary many times. I'm not sure if anyone do a full soak as there were no facilities around except toilets. In fact it was by the road side.
View while soaking feet at the hot spring |
Gurugyam Monastery 故如甲木寺
Around 16 km from Moincer or 8 km from Tirthapuri, we visited the only Bonpo school monastery in our itinerary - Gurugyma Monastery at the upper reaches of the Sutlej River valley.
Khyungtrul Rinpoche was born in the Hor region of eastern Tibet but his most influential work was done in the Gurgyam valley of west Tibet. According to Bonpo's historical accounts, this area was the seat of the ancient kingdom of Zhangzhung and the birthplace of the Bon religion.
Gurgyam Monastery was founded in order to re-establish the Bon religion in the area. This area was believed to be close to the capital of Zhangzhung, the location of the mythical Khyunglung Dngul Mkhar (translated as the Silver Pagoda or Fortress of Garuda Valley). Gurgyam Monastery was next to a cave associated with the 8th century Bon Master, Drenpa Namkha.
Khyunglung 穹窿银城
Zhangzhung Kingdom was a powerful kingdom spanning across Central Asia and the Tibetan Plateau and divided into three regions - Inner Zhangzhung in the Ngari, Central Zhangzhung near Tangra Yumco of Nagqu and Outer Zhangzhung entered n Mount Zelchol of Qamdo. Khyunglung Dngul Mkhar was the center of Inner Zhangzhung and was the capital of Zhangzhung Kingdom. The queen of the Zhangzhung King Liknyashur was Semarkar, King Songtsen Gampo's sister.
In Tibetan, Khyunglung indicates to the place where Garuda lies as "Khyung" means garuda and "lung" means place. "Dngul" means silver and "Mkhar" means fortress or palace. Overall, it is translated as the Silver Palace or Fortress of Garuda Valley.
There are discussions on where are the possible sites that match the descriptions of Khyunglung Dngul Mkhar. The one we visited is the Qulong ruins and sit on an earth forest landscape and white or lighter cliffs on both sides resembled the wings of the Garuda bird. Darker cliffs in the middle look like the body and head of the Garuda bird.
In 644 AD, King Songtsen Gampo attacked the Zhangzhung Kingdom because his sister Semarkar was snubbed by her husband. Following that, the glorious Zhangzhung Kingdom gradually faded away.
Inside one of the caves |
Zanda Earth Forest 札达士林
Zanda or Zhada means the place where grass in the lower reaches of river in Tibetan. Zanda National Geopark or Zanda Earth Forest is between the Himalaya and the Transhimalaya stretching for nearly 100 km. The landscape earth forest covers about 2464 km. The earth forest is mainly composed of sandstone and clay, formed by erosion of water.
Side note: Japan or South Korea?