Murals of Thubchen and Jampa gompas

Jampa Lhakhang is the oldest of Lo Manthang's major temples, built in the early 15th century and known locally as the 'god house'. Its main hall rises through several storeys to hold a huge clay image of Jampa, the Maitreya or future Buddha. The walls are painted with mandalas of exceptional detail and colour, in a style that shows the links between Lo and the great monasteries of central Tibet. A torch helps you see them in the dim light.

Thubchen gompa, built in the late 15th century just south-west of Jampa, is a huge red assembly hall with tall wooden pillars and walls covered in large painted figures of buddhas, bodhisattvas and protectors. For years the paintings were dark with soot and damaged by water. From the late 1990s a restoration programme supported by the American Himalayan Foundation brought in international conservators and trained young Loba men and women to clean and stabilise them.

Your guide will find the caretakers, who hold the keys and collect the entry fee or donation. Take your time; the best murals reward close looking, and light comes in only from the doors and high windows. Photography rules vary and flash is never allowed. Allow at least an hour in each temple, and go in the late morning when the sun is high enough to light the doorways. It is time well spent.