15 Day Himalayan Guided Motorcycle Tour on the Worlds Highest Motorable Pass

Riding along some of the world’s highest mountain passes will challenge even the most intrepid of travelers but it is an experience that lifelong memories are made of. There are some travel destinations that seem so obscure that most would never even think of them. However, once you have heard the idea, it is a prospect so tantalizing that you cannot seem to shake the desire to get there one day. That is the kind of journey a motorbike ride through the Himalayas can bring to you.

Itinerary

Day 1 - Delhi

Arriving in Delhi at dawn, settling in a hotel, little sightseeing, shower, and leaving to Manali with bus/private jeeps in the evening.

Day 2 and 3 - Manali

Arriving in Manali in the morning, occupying accommodation, resting. Excursion to Vashist to the Jogini waterfall, bathing in the thermal pools built on the local heat source, acclimation to the Indian environment.

Receiving the bikes, smaller tours in the area, taste local food, getting used to the bikes.

Day 4 - Manali - Jispa (150 kilometers / 93 miles)

After the breakfast you set out, going uphill between enormous pine trees, above which huge vultures are circling on the sky. Crossing the 3979 meter-high Rothang pass. The way leads through small villages in beautiful surroundings to the small city of Jispa.

Day 5 - Jispa - Sarchu (90 kilometers / 55 miles)

You continue the ride uphill and cross the 4890-meter high Baralacha Pass. Here you can get a taste of Ladakh’s moonlit landscapes and sky-rising mountain ranges. You go down a little and spend the night in a well-equipped tent camp in Sarchu, located on the border of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

Day 6 - Sarchu - Leh (250 kilometers / 155 miles)

Maybe the hardest and longest part is waiting for you. You will have to climb 3 passes of around 5000 meter, in the following order: Nakee La (4739 m), Lachung La (5065 m), and finally the world’s second highest motorable pass, the 5329-meter high Tanglang La. From here you ride down on perfect roads, following the Indus river to Leh, the capital of Ladakh, where you can finally relax under comfortable circumstances.

Day 7 - Leh (Rest day)

After riding on the hardest roads in the world for 3 days, strolling around in Leh will feel pretty good. Leh is a pleasant half Buddhist-half Muslim town with a lot of monasteries and mosques. You change your bikes, to ones with the local license plate, complying with the requirements of the state. Along with the new bikes you also prepare for the challenges of the following days.

Day 8 - Leh - Pangong Lake (149 kilometers / 92 miles)

After the breakfast, you set out again towards Pangong Lake, the biggest saltwater lake in Asia, 2/3 of which lies in China and 1/3 in India. In the small village next to the lake only a few families get through the -40-50°C cold winter when the whole lake freezes into one huge piece of ice. You spend the night in a nice, well-equipped tent camp by the lake, run by warm-hearted locals.

Day 9 - Pangong - Nubra Valley (149 kilometers / 92 miles)

You are leaving towards Nubra Valley in the valley of the Shyok river, which is only rideable this time of the year, usually, it is covered with snow. You’ll arrive to another landscape, among sand dunes and two-humped camel herds.

Day 10 - Nubra Valley - Khardung La - Leh (125 kilometers / 77 miles)

In the morning you’re climbing up to the 32-meter-high Buddha statue of the Diskit monastery, which peacefully looks towards Pakistan to protect the inhabitants of the area from recent wars. While riding towards Leh you’re crossing the world’s highest motorable pass, the Khardung La, said to be 5602 meters high and you’re stretching the team’s flag.

Day 11 - Leh (Rest day)

Relaxation, refreshment, massage, souvenir shopping, and a short, optional riding to the most famous Buddhist monasteries of the neighborhood (Thiksey, Hemish).

Day 12 - Leh Dah Hanu (135 kilometers / 83 miles)

After breakfast you’ll take a trip to Dah Hanu along the Indus river. This timeless village preserves a unique Indo-European cultural heritage and is inhabited by people wearing unique traditional jewelry and clothes subsisted from the Dard ethnic. You spend the night in high-class tent-camp in an apricot orchard.

Day 13 - Dah Hanu - Lamayuru - Leh (165 kilometers / 102 miles)

On your last day on two wheels, you are crossing the last 5000 meters high pass. Before heading back to Leh, you will stop off in Lamayuru and Alchi, the home of a 1000 years old monastery.

Day 14 - Leh - Delhi

A flight from Leh to Delhi where you’ll go to sleep with lots of new experiences in our mind.

Day 15: Delhi - home

Transfer to the airport, flying home.

Skill level

Advanced

• can ride for five to six hours
• extensive riding experience
• assistance on demand (if required)
• experienced with riding a variety of motorcycles
• comfortable with any terrain and weather conditions

• Relaxation in local thermal baths
• Sightseeing in the northern city
• Trip to the confluence of the Zanskar and Indus rivers
• Visit Lamayuru and Alchi monasteries
• Jogini waterfall
• Visit 32-meter-high Buddha statue

This motorcycle tour will take place in Manali, Jispa, Pang, Ladakh, Leh, Pangong Lake, Nubra Valley, Dah Hanu, Magnetic Hill, and Nanga Parbat in India. The tour will start and end in Delhi.

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During this motorcycle tour, breakfast and dinner will be provided daily. You will get breakfast and dinner at the hotel in a buffet system. For lunch, you will stop at roadside stalls where you can buy snacks and basic food where everyone pays his own. You will make several pit stops in local tea shops where you can find a variety of local and very cheap but good quality food and drink options.

The type of all three meals are basically Indian. In case of special diets, please let Beyond the Standard know in advance and they will ask the local partners about the possibilities. Of course, you can drink but buying alcohol is somewhat more difficult. It is advised to take spirits from home or buy them at the airport. In larger cities, there are dedicated alcohol shops and it is always possible to buy beer in the accommodations, although the price of it rises in proportion to the height above sea level.

You can dine in nice local restaurants or grab some beer and papadums in the hotel garden.

• 13 nights accommodation
• Royal Enfield motorbikes
• Daily breakfast and dinner
• Domestic flight ticket from Leh to Delhi
• Delhi - Manali bus ride
• Airport transfers in India
• Petrol
• Local guides
• Back-up van for the baggage
• Mechanic and spare parts
• Permissions to militarily protected areas
• Experienced BTS tour guide

• International flight tickets to Delhi and back (from 500 EUR)
• Insurance valid for motorbiking in India (recommended by BTS: 50-100 EUR)
• Visa (if applicable, approximately 70 EUR)
• Pocket money (depending on the desire to buy souvenirs: 250-500 EUR)
• Motorcycle protectors and gear
• Upon request, Beyond the Standard is happy to handle and book visa, plane tickets and insurance for 50 EUR total

Recommended Airports

• A reservation requires a deposit of 40% of the total price.
• The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
• The rest of the payment should be paid 30 days before arrival.