Budhist Temple, Vrang Village

The Buddhist temple is in the Vrang village at an elevation of 2805 meter above the sea level. The distance from Khorog to Vrang is 170 km, and from the centre of Ishkoshim district, it is 69 km. The architectural form of this monastery is very interesting. It consists of five square buildings built on top of each other like stairs. The temple is located on a hill and is visible from the village. Looking from the hill, the whole village of Vrang, and surrounding villages are visible, both on this side of the river and on the other side of the river (Afghanistan). This is a very convenient place to watch the beautiful scenery of Wakhan.

Structure of the Stupa

The stupa is entirely built out the local stone, and the first and second walls, which are located at the bottom, are slightly plastered. According to the archaeological investigations, the area where the temple complex was located, is surrounded by a fence. The foundation remains there. The length of this wall was 180 meters, the width is up to one meter. Two towers were built at the two corners of the wall. One is conical (in the north-east) and the other is square (in the south-east). Besides, two semi-circular squares have been built outside the wall near the east wall. The wall had two entrances. One is on the southeast side at the corner of the east wall, the other is the north entrance in the middle of the north wall. Both entrances had doors that remained intact. The south-eastern entrance had two doors.

Gallery

Travel to the Buddhist Temple

The Buddhist temple is located about 55 miles from downtown Ishkoshim, on a rocky outcrop near the village of Vrang. Tourists can reach to this place by traveling from Khorog to the center of Ishkoshim district. From there they can taxi and other rented cars to the village of Vrang. Passengers can also visit the Buddha Temple at Vrang while travelling along the Murghob and Ishkoshim.