Samding Dorje Phagmo Tsaparang (Tibetan: རྩ་བྲང, Wylie: rtsa-brang[1]) was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Guge in the Garuda Valley, through which the upper Sutlej River flows, in Ngari Prefecture (Western Tibet) near the border of Ladakh.

The eldest one, Kyide Nyiamagon, established himself at Purang and conquered a large area including Ladakh and parts of Spiti.

António de Andrade and Brother Manuel Marques, came to the region looking for Christian kingdoms that had long been rumored to lay beyond the Himalayas.

After a harrowing journey (they were the first known Europeans to traverse the Himalayas) they arrived in Tsaparang,[5] where they managed to gain permission from the king of Guge to freely preach their religion throughout the kingdom, and left after less than a month.

In spite of massive damage done then, and the destruction of most of the statues and murals in both chapels by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution, many magnificent frescoes have somehow survived.