Set in a wild, big-sky valley, wind-scoured Rangdum is the first Buddhist village heading for Zanskar. Eastwards the horizon is an arid pastiche of oddly contorted strata fronted by the dot of Rangdum Gompa, 5km away, looking like a tiny island floating above the valley floor. The gompa’s 25 yellow-hatted monks are outnumbered by monastery donkeys, who sleep inside at night.
