ingari prefecture tibet 2020 towering at over 12 000 feet these ancient ruins are all that is left
of the mysterious buddhist kingdom of guge established in the 10th century
this civilization flourished for 700 years but then according to local legend its inhabitants
vanished the ruins of this early city are truly amazing they're in the southwest corner of tibet
and there are thousands of what were temples and palaces mostly gone now
this was a kingdom of great influence in its time this magnificent capital had artwork
over all the walls images of the buddha sacred carvings and images of all kind
it had power it had glory and now it is nothing
goo gay was in continuous operation until it mysteriously virtually disappeared nobody knows
exactly what happened there or why people stopped living there or why they where they went guge was
brought under the rule of the central tibetan government in 1680 but remained largely isolated
and independent for more than 200 years then in the early 20th century the tibetan government
decided to finally start taxing the residents of guge but when soldiers arrived to collect they
were shocked to find that the entire population an estimated 100 000 people had disappeared
where they went remains a complete mystery and many tibetans believe the reason why is because
the people of guge traveled deep underground the fortress of google had all kinds of tunnels and
hidden staircases that went underground and went inside this mountain so even though it was ruins
already when archaeologists went there they were astounded that this city of google apparently led
inside the earth what people seem to believe was that if you were to follow these tunnels
far enough into the earth you would eventually come to that hidden city of shambhala
a an active city full of light and power did the people of this ancient civilization flee
underground on an epic pilgrimage to the mythic kingdom of shambhala and if so
where did their path lead some researchers believe the tunnels of guge lead to a holy mountain to the
east that can be clearly seen from these ruins mount kailash every year thousands of pilgrims
make the treacherous journey to the base of this sacred peak every year there are pilgrimages
around mount kailash in order to gain the blessing and maybe even some of the powers
associated with the residing gods and and buddhas and deities of mount kailash
it lasts up to four weeks if it's done correctly with full prostrations at every step and it's also
a very unforgiving landscape so many people end up giving up and some of them also end up dying
according to ancient buddhist texts known as the kalikakra tantra
the kingdom of shambhala can be found behind mount kailash or as some interpret it within
and many who have stared up at this sacred peak have observed mysterious objects in the sky
mount kailash is at the center of all sorts of mysteries
ufo sightings the hint that there might be something hidden there but it's unknowable
there are many myths and legends and strange things that have gone on at mount kailash people
go there on pilgrimages but they're told not to stay there long because there's something
radioactive inside the mountain and we're told that people live there both in physical form
and in non-physical form it has to be one of the strangest places on the
planet