Loaded mini bus with half open engine lid and people sitting on the roof top on the road between Leh and Alchi, Indus Valley, Ladakh, India, Asia

Detail of Buddha statue at Alchi Monastery, Ladakh, India, Asia

Close up of traditional carved prayer stones on a prayer wall at Alchi, with desert landscape and mountains in background, Ladakh, India, Asia

Close up of traditional carved prayer stones on a prayer wall with desert landscape and mountains beyond, Alchi, Ladakh, India, Asia

The 400 year-old stone and mud brick house of the Lunpo Alchi (minister of Alchi village) towers above farmhouses topped with fodder, and sits below a latho (god place) marking the presence of a local god. Ladakh, India

The 11th century monastery complex at Alchi. Within the simple exterior are exceptional murals thought to have been painted by artists from the Kashmir Valley. The murals are considered as some of the world's finest examples of Indo-Tibetan art. Ladakh, India

Buddhist monastery Alchi, Ladakh, Himalaya, Jammu and Kashmir, North India, Asia