The Breathtaking Famed ‘Moonland' Of Lamayuru

The famed ‘Moonland’ of Lamayuru is surreal and breathtaking. Tread an ancient lakebed amid fantastical rock formations resulting from water and wind erosion, and climb a hill to Ladakh’s oldest monastery.

- Hema Narayanan

We ran as if to meet the moon.” Robert Frost’s words, I thought, were just a manner of speaking. Until the moment when I truly found myself running as if to meet the moon. It was at Lamayuru amidst the mountain backed badlands in western Ladakh. Being enamoured of the moon is a commonality, but actually encountering the good fortune to witness how the landscape on the moon could look is a rarity. And to take a walk on this moon-like landscape is an experience extraordinaire.

Lamayuru has distinctive slices of the Greater Himalaya like no other region in Ladakh. Yet, like the rest of Ladakh, the route to Lamayuru is stunning, with transforming landscapes – barren terrain, stark mountains, at times yellow or brown, then bronze and again purple. Our four-wheel drive cruised smoothly on the excellent surface of NH1-D (the Srinagar-Leh highway), right after Fotu La. The Indus and Zanskar rivers had cut into the earth, carrying a variegated hue of brownish water along, as could be seen vividly at their confluence at the sangam. We stopped to admire the valley with its spectacular display of green, brown, gold and rust, along with the colourful flutter of Buddhist prayer flags. Chortens and stupas were strewn along the way, with occasional clusters of willows and poplars. But the best was yet to come.

On the final stretch, after a two-hour drive, we took a turn around the bend and there was Lamayuru waiting to unravel its well-kept secret – its moonscape carved out amid the Himalayan ranges. Until then, I had only an inkling of what the surface of the moon looked like, from documentaries on space travel. And now, I verily thought I was walking on the moon. Hypnotising and surreal, Lamayuru’s landscape was absolutely akin to lunar terrain with its unique formations, colour and expanse.