The defining landmark of the spectacular, two-day journey between Leh and Srinagar has to be the view of Lamayuru Gompa (monastery), framed by its hinterland of spiky peaks and eroded mountainsides. Draped over a wind-blown outcrop of sandstone, the monastery’s red-and-white buildings tumble through stands of rustling poplars to a cuboid village of monks cells and farmhouses, all resting on a carpet of lush barley terraces.