We left Lamayuru – and after a lunch and a further photo stop (to get the moonland views in) we were heading towards our accommodation in Uleytokpo, a nice camp with great views of the Indus and some of the best food of the whole trip.

In the late afternoon we were offered a side trip to a bonus monastery: Mangue. While only a few kilometers away, getting there was a bit of an adventure, as we hit road construction work on the way up – and were only allowed through after a a bit of back and forth – and movement of heavy machinery.

Mangue Monastery is comprised of four temples dating from the 11th century and a number of stupas; stars here are the (Maitreya Buddha) statues in the temples, as well as the detailed wall paintings.

The way back was less eventful as the construction gang meanwhile had called it a day; we had a photo stop down at the bridge across the Indus River just around sunset.