Slow-paced Lamayuru is one of Ladakh’s most memorable villages and an ideal place to break the journey from Kargil to Leh. Set among remarkable mountain-backed badland scenery, picturesque homes huddle around a crumbling central hilltop that’s a Swiss cheese of caves and erosion pillars topped by a photogenic gompa.

It is called so fondly, because the landscapes here are said to be like that of the moon. It has also been said often, that on a full moon night, the area is an extraordinary sight to behold, something one doesn’t get see everyday, making it a must visit area of the town. Lamayuru monastery is situated at a distance of 127 KM from Leh at a height of 3,510 meters.

Lamayuru can easily be covered in a day return trip from Leh. Lamayuru is known for its monastery, and for its “lunar” landscape – quaintly promoted as a “Moonscape” for tourists. The landscape is certainly incredible with its spectacularly odd geological formations, though this is not unique to Lamayuru. Lamayuru monastery is ancient, built into the ‘moonscape’. It has some beautiful frescoes and frightening masks. Visitors can also see the glassed in meditation cave of the Lama Naropa.

Lamayuru is a part of the Dri-Gungpa sector in western Ladakh. Lamayuru also attracts tourists for its landscape quite similar to the lunar terrain.