It was founded in 1696 in accordance with the wish of the fifth Dalai Lama by his first minister Desi Sangye Gyatso who also wrote important commentaries on the “Gyu Shi”, the basic text of Tibetan medicine, which are still in use as standard works in medical education today, and as a result he is regarded as one of the great forefathers of Tibetan medicine.
Chagpori was a monastic college where only monks could be trained as doctors and it focused on spiritual approaches to healing.

Although it enjoyed a high reputation well beyond the borders of Tibet it was eventually completely destroyed during the invasion of 1959, as the Chinese viewed the school as a particular threat because of the strong connection with Buddhism.