Across the valley from Leh, Stok's main drawcards are its 19th-century royal palace, its collection of older Ladakhi houses and its role as a possible starting point for hikes to Rumbak and the Markha Valley and for climbing Stok Kangri. Stok also makes a quiet alternative to Leh as a Ladakh touring base thanks to its small but excellent choice of accommodation.

Matho's large Sakya Buddhist monastery ( GOOGLE MAP ; %01982-246085; www.mathomuseumproject.com) is perched above the bucolic village with dreamy views across the Indus Valley's patchwork of emerald-green fields, sandy deserts and mountain horizons. The dynamic gompa has impressive architecture, a new museum under construction and an interesting thangka-restoration workshop.

Shey is an attractive, pond-dappled oasis from which rises a central dry rocky ridge dominated by extensive fortress ruins and a former palace containing Ladakh's most celebrated Buddha statue. Around 700 whitewashed stupas dot the village, some dating back to the 11th century. But Shey's biggest tourist draw is none of the above: Indian tourists flock here to see the school that featured in the 2009 Bollywood movie 3 Idiots.

Unlike most Ladakhi monasteries, the 17th-century Hemis Gompa ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.drukpa-hemis.org; ₹100; h8am-1pm & 2-6pm), spiritual centre of Ladakh’s Drukpa Buddhists, is set discreetly into a cliff-backed valley rather than on top of a crag, but it's arguably Ladakh's most famous Buddhist monastic complex. The central courtyard and main temple buildings have lots of colour, the museum ( GOOGLE MAP ; Hemis Gompa; free with monastery admission; h8am-1pm & 2-6pm mid-Apr–mid-Oct) is fascinating, and there's plenty more to explore amid the atmospheric upper shrines.

To escape the tourist hordes, stroll beyond the new school construction along a lovely stream-side path, then take the concrete stairway that leads up to the Gotsang Hermitage ( GOOGLE MAP ; Hemis; hdawn-dusk), with two attractive main temple buildings and also containing the cave where Tantric master Gyalwang Gotsang (1189–1258) meditated. Also known as Golsangapa, he was the enlightened Tibetan lama who charted the pilgrim path around Mt Kailash and to whom Ladakh's Drukpa Buddhists cast back their lineage. Allow nearly an hour for the trip up, half that back.

Near the main monastery, the compact and timeless Hemis village is also worth a stroll, with narrow alleys running between tightly packed homes.

Ever popular, the annual Tse-Chu festival ( GOOGLE MAP ; Hemis Gompa; hJul) sees three days of masked dances that artfully tell the story of Padmasambhava's life.

You can go to Karu by shared taxi from Choglamsar (₹50). From Karu, Hemis is 7km up a winding lane (taxi one-way/return ₹300/500).

Less popular with travellers than Thiksey but every bit as spectacular, Thekchhok Gompa (Chemrey Monastery; GOOGLE MAP ; Karu–Pangong road, Km7.3; museum ₹50; hmuseum 8.30am-1pm & 2-6pm, festival Nov) sits high on a hillock above waving fields of ripening barley. It's the perfect Ladakhi postcard view. Around 3km further north, at the third of three junctions (Km10.4), a road leads towards the Wari La pass through Sakti, a charming village of gently terraced fields, waterlogged meadows and stone walls. The lane skirts Sakti’s shattered stone fortress ruins ( GOOGLE MAP ; Km1.5, Wari La Rd, Sakti) and several Buddhist monuments, the most famous of which is Takthog (Dakthok) Gompa ( GOOGLE MAP ; Km4.6, Wari La Rd, Sakti; donation appropriate; hfestival Jul).

The charming homestay Solpon ( GOOGLE MAP ; %9906304067; Km2.3, Wari La Rd; per person with half board ₹800; W), 2km from Takthog Gompa, has great views of Sakti Castle, while the area's best hotel is Sakti Villa ( GOOGLE MAP ; %01982-251063; www.saktivilla.com; Km4.3, Wari La Rd; s/d ₹2600/2900), 300m before Takthog Gompa.

Chemrey and Takthog are short diversions off the Karu–Pangong road and are generally visited as add-ons to a two-day Pangong jeep excursion. Alternatively, you can visit both monasteries as a day trip from Leh by taxi (around ₹2500 return).

Diskit is centred around a brash bazaar street that leads down from Nubra’s only bus/taxi station, perpendicular to the Leh–Turtuk road. From the bottom of the bazaar, swing right past the Spangla Guesthouse to find an altogether softer Diskit along a lane that leads 1.5km to the Old Diskit area of stupas, a big mani wall and a crumbling old Ladakhi mansion. Where the Old Town lane rejoins the main Leh–Hunder road, a 2km spaghetti of hairpins winds up to splendid Diskit Gompa (Ganden Tashi Chosling Gompa; GOOGLE MAP ; ₹30; h7am-7pm) passing a gigantic (32m) full-colour Chamba (Maitreya Buddha) statue ( GOOGLE MAP ; Diskit Gompa rd) on an intermediate hill.

In the bazaar area, Sand Dune Hotel ( GOOGLE MAP ; %01980-220022, 9419568208; r standard/luxury ₹1200/2000, s/d without bathroom ₹400/500) has the prettiest garden of six decent options. For bargain deals, look across town near the base of the Diskit Gompa access lane, notably upstairs rooms at stream-serenaded Kharyok Deluxe Guest House ( GOOGLE MAP ; %9469176131, 01980-220050, 9419538846; kharyokguesthouse@gmail.com; Diskit bypass; r downstairs/upstairs ₹600/800; pW) or the newest rooms at old faithful Sunrise Guest House ( GOOGLE MAP ; %9469261853, 01980-220011; sunrise.guest66@gmail.com; Old DIskit; s/d ₹500/600, d/tr without bathroom ₹300/350; hMay-Sep). There are several additional choices in between.

Lost in greenery and closely backed by soaring valley cliffs, Hunder village is far and away Nubra's top attraction for Indian visitors, who settle into relatively comfy guesthouses and tent camps, and then spend the late afternoon riding Bactrian camels ( GOOGLE MAP ; Hunder sand dunes; per 15min/hr ₹200/600; hMay-Sep) through a series of photogenic sand dunes. The riding point is nearly 3km from Old Hunder, where a precarious little ridge-top fort ruin ( GOOGLE MAP ) rises high above the main road near the modest gompa ( GOOGLE MAP ; h6am-8am) and a fascinating series of mani walls, stupas and sub-shrines.

Increasingly, foreign backpackers who don't require the relative comfort of Hunder's accommodation options tend to make their way to less-commercial Turtuk or visit Hunder from nearby Diskit, which has better transport connections.

Hidden in pretty, semi-rural settings, accommodation comprises around 20 garden guesthouses, a handful of slightly larger 'hotels', a cottage resort and a dozen ‘luxury’ camps. Most of the latter seem overpriced, but Kora Valley ( GOOGLE MAP ; %01980-221339, 9469517223; www.thakora.in; Umbey Rd, Hunder; d tent ₹2000, incl full board ₹3000; hMay-Sep; pW) offers decent value. You can usually turn up and find something without booking ahead if you're not too fussy, but you might need to search around a bit during peak season.

Most Hunder guesthouses charge in the ₹1000 to ₹1500 range, such as the pleasant Goba Guest House ( GOOGLE MAP ; %9419827912, 01980-221083; rkkhadka2805@gmail.com; Hunder; d ₹1000-1200; hApr-Sep). There's very little in the sub-₹600 range, but ever-helpful Gulam's Himalayan Guest House ( GOOGLE MAP ; %01980-221131, Ghulam 9469177470; www.facebook.com/himalayanhunder; Hunder; d/tr from ₹600/800, s/d/tr without bathroom ₹400/450/500; hApr-Oct) (note, not Himalayan Eco Resort) remains a reliable backpacker choice, and the small, family-run Galaxy Guest House ( GOOGLE MAP ; %9419585450, 01980-221054; Hunder; dm/d/q ₹300/1000/1200, incl half-board ₹500/1500/2000; hApr-Nov; pW) has one four-bed dormitory along with its very clean, fair-value en suite rooms.

The turbulent Shayok valley between Hunder and Turtuk is 80km of scenic magnificence marred only very occasionally by military installations. The grand raw-rock valley briefly narrows near tiny Changmar, the western limit of Ladakhi-Buddhist culture. Thereafter, the rare green splashes of village are culturally and linguistically Muslim Balti. The main centres of Turtuk and less-visited Bogdang villages are raised patchworks of fields and houses on terrace ledges above the main road. Summer sees locals carting huge bundles of barley straw on their backs between the apricot trees. Upper Turtuk has unforgettable views towards serrated high peaks in Pakistan: the frontline is only 7km away. Indeed Turtuk itself was part of Pakistan until the 1971 war.

Note that while many travellers find Turtuk a Ladakh highlight, some others consider its quiet simplicity doesn't quite justify the long journey.

The village has three distinct sections. The main road passes through the lower part known as Turtuk Chutang. Most guesthouses and homes are in the pretty village area on the raised plateau above, which is divided by a side river into older Turtuk Youl and more open, green Turtuk Farol. The two upper areas are connected by a suspension footbridge.

The main delight is simply watching Turtuk village life and wandering between the beautiful field-hemmed viewpoints. The old houses of Turtuk Youl are being upgraded rapidly but many retain 'coolers' – stone block mini-buildings through which ice-cold streams are funnelled to form natural refrigerators.

The town's Old M ( GOOGLE MAP ; Turtuk Youl)osque ( GOOGLE MAP ; Turtuk Youl) has a distinctive wooden minaret with spiral staircase, and the modest little Pon Khar (Yabgo Royal House; GOOGLE MAP ; %01980-248114; Turtuk Youl; by donation; h7pm-9.30pm, hours vary) 'palace' is still home to the raja, who traces the royal family's once-magnificent dynasty in his one-room museum.

For a slightly longer hike you could wander up to the small Buddhist monastery at the Bogdang end of Farol.

If you have your own transport, Sumur-Tegar is worth considering as a laid-back Nubra base with a shady orchard environment. Like busier alternative Hunder, Sumur even has its own sand dunes with the opportunity for quick camel-riding ( GOOGLE MAP ; Khalsar-Panamik Rd Km22; per 15min ₹200; hMay-Sep) jaunts. Don't expect much of Panamik (Km44), whose sometimes-touted hot springs are pitifully underwhelming. Much more interesting is Tegar (Tiger) village, where the Zimskang Museum ( GOOGLE MAP ; by donation ₹50; hby request, best evening) is an unmarked historic house, found by descending a footpath alongside chortens and a mani wall from the ancient little Manekhang Gompa. High on an unstable hillside above the gompa, the three-storey shell of Zamskhang Palace ( GOOGLE MAP ; Khalsar-Panamik Rd Km25) sits above the crumbling rubble of Nubra’s former royal citadel (Km25). And an appealing if steep back lane loops back to Sumur via the colourfully rebuilt Samstemling Gompa ( GOOGLE MAP ; by donation; h6am-noon & 1.30-6pm).

Pretty Phyang village is a large, green expanse of layered, tree-hemmed barley fields, 20km from Leh in the next parallel valley west. There's a big gompa ( GOOGLE MAP ), a fortress ruin ( GOOGLE MAP ) and an ancient Guru Lakhang (Guru Gonpa; GOOGLE MAP ; %Lobsang Chospal 9596834460, Tsering Norboo 9469728179; gurulakhang@gmail.com; Phyang; by donation; hon request), but it's almost entirely uncommercialised, with neither hotel nor restaurant. You're most likely to come here to unwind at the Hidden North Guest House, but there are also farmstays (%01982-226117; www.icestupa.org/farmstays; per day approx ₹750) in several local homes.

Basgo was once a capital of lower Ladakh, and the shattered remnants of its former citadel and palace ( GOOGLE MAP ; Basgo; per temple ₹30) form a remarkable sight above the NH1 highway. It’s worth the 1.6km detour to the top of the stabilised ruins to enjoy unusual views and to visit two enclosed two-storey medieval Maitreya statues, one of bronze, the other of painted clay. Driving another 8km north through the verdant oasis village of Ney brings you to the gleaming golden form of a new giant Buddha statue, claimed to be nearly 26m tall, though that includes the three-storey building that forms his 'stool'.

The 'Sham baby trek' is popularly used as a three-day acclimatisation warm-up hike. Its big advantages are a lack of high passes, ample homestays and the fact that you can choose to stop at any stage and still have a relatively painless way to get back to Leh. Downsides include lack of shade and the fact that the route parallels, and partly follows, the Likir–Yangthang–Hemis Shukpachan road, which will soon extend to Timishgan. Although typically started from Likir, the longer Likir–Yangthang leg could easily be skipped without great loss. In fact an interesting alternative is to walk Timishgan–Hemis Shukpachan–Yangthang then descend via Rizong Gompa ( GOOGLE MAP ; h7am-1pm & 1.30-6pm) to the NH1 at Uletokpo.

Likir has the comfortable and inviting Hotel Lhukhil ( GOOGLE MAP ; %9419214715; sonam.yasmin@yahoo.com; Likir; s/d ₹1530/2060 incl half-board ₹2190/2700; hmid-May–mid-Sep; p), plus a few good-value if very simple budget options in the scenic area up by the photogenic Likir Gompa ( GOOGLE MAP ; Upper Likir; museum ₹20; h8am-1pm & 2-6pm), which is backed by a giant, gleaming, gold-painted 20th-century Maitreya statue.

The magical little hamlet of Yangthang has four traditional if basic homestays with floor mattresses and meals included. In Hemis Shukpachan are nearly a dozen widely scattered homestays and a small tent resort/guesthouse.

In Timishgan, a former Ladakhi capital that is a particularly worthy destination in its own right, you'll find numerous homestays, several also offering camping facilities in their yards, plus Namra Hotel ( GOOGLE MAP ; %01982-229033, 9419178324; www.namrahotel.com; Ang Rd, Timishgan; s/d/ste ₹2915/3465/4785, incl half-board ₹4015/4565/5885), an oasis of comfort for arriving trekkers. Five kilometres from central Timishgan, Tia is one of Ladakh's most delightful village ensembles.

The rural village of Alchi has become a regional tourism magnet thanks to the special murals and carvings of the world-famous Choskhor temple complex ( GOOGLE MAP ; Alchi; foreigner/Indian ₹50/20; h8am-1pm & 2-6pm), founded in the early 11th century by ‘Great Translator’ Lotsava Ringchen Zangpo. The complex comprises four main temple buildings. Each one is small and unobtrusive from outside but their design and millennium-old murals are rare archetypes of Ladakh’s first wave of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist art.

If you want more in the same genre, don't miss the triple chamba (Chamchen Choskorling; GOOGLE MAP ; NH1 Km371.5) at nearby Saspol, which also has Zangpo-era cave paintings (Gon Nila-Phuk; GOOGLE MAP ) cut into the cliff beneath its ruined fortress. Or escape the crowds altogether by visiting the 10th-century temple complex ( GOOGLE MAP ; Manggyu) at Manggyu, some 15km from the Alchi Bridge.

In the the temple area, Alchi has around a dozen accommodation options, though several offer lacklustre rooms behind misleadingly tempting facades. Walk-in bargains are often available. In a sizeable garden 800m back towards Leh, the friendly, all-en suite Choskor Guest House ( GOOGLE MAP ; %9419826363; Alchi; s ₹300-500, d ₹500-700; pW) charges homestay prices for decent, if older, guesthouse rooms. Another alternative is to sleep across the river in Saspol which has three homestays; the super-obliging Thongyok ( GOOGLE MAP ; %9419177523, 9419001904; thongyok.guesthouse@gmail.com; NH1 Km371.3, Saspol; dm ₹300, r with/without bathroom ₹1500/700; pW) is especially recommended.

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 mountain-backed badlands, picturesque homes huddle around a crumbling central hilltop that’s a Swiss cheese of caves and erosion pillars topped by a photogenic gompa.

The Wakha–Mulbekh Valley looks like a calm grass-green sea over which a vast tsunami of frothing red mountains is about to crash. It's breathtaking at sunset, especially when viewed from the former castle site.

This is the last predominantly Buddhist area on the route west from Leh, a role Mulbekh flaunts with its famous roadside Buddha Relief and two small but intriguing little monasteries, Rgyal Gompa near Wakha and Shargol Gompa some 10km to the west.

The area's best accommodation is Horizon Camp ( GOOGLE MAP ; %9469045459; horizonladakhcamp@gmail.com; NH1 Km245, Wakha; d ₹1500, incl half-board ₹2300; hMay-Sep; p), an unusually fair-value bedded tent camp in a beautiful roadside flower garden, 150m from Wakha's petrol station. Central Mulbekh has several inexpensive, friendly homestay-guesthouses.