Spitok gompa, rising incongruously from the end of the airport runway, makes a good half-day foray from Leh, 10 km up the north side of the Indus Valley. If you can't afford the taxi fare, the easiest way to get there is to stroll down to the crossroads above GPO and J&K TDC's tourist reception centre, and then flag down any of the buses heading west along the main Srinagar highway.

By contrast, the fifteenth-century monastery, which tumbles down the sides of a steep knoll to a tight cluster of farmhouses and well-watered fields, is altogether more picturesque. The spacious roof tops of the monastery command fabulous views.

Paldan Lumo chapel perched on ahigh ridge above is more fascinating than the complex, which is a typical mixture of dusty, dimly lit prayer halls and vivid modern shrines. Another interesting shrine is the one dedicated to Vajra Bhairavi, a tantric guardian deity of the Gelug-pa order. This chamber is distinctly spooky and houses a row of veiled ferocious faces, which are unveiled, only once a year. After waving incense smoke before them and muttering some mantras (prayers), the key-keeper lama will pass around handfuls of sweets newly infused with protective power. The highlights of this place are the paintings on the rear wall of the chapel, which date back 600 years and are Spitok's oldest building.