Day 01 : Narkanda

Pick up from Chandigarh airport and arrive at Narkanda

Day 02 : Warm up day in Narkanda

Narkanda is situated on the ancient Indo Tibet route at an altitude of 2,700 metres. We start our adventure here. Today we will get on after a team and rider briefing for a 50km warm up ride. This evening we will enjoy the most glorious barbeque round an open fire and get to know each other a bit better.

Day 03 : Narkanda – Manali [210kms]

Setting of early our destination is Manali. We have a beautiful ride downhill for 40kms to the mighty River Sutlej before we start to climb up through the forest roads and trails to the very top of Jalori Pass which sits at 3,150 metres. We will have lunch at the top and head down along the Kullu Valley and through a 3km tunnel which goes uphill, downhill and round corners, it makes you feel alive, no kidding.

Day 04 : Narkanda – Manali [210kms]

The big one. Today we cross the notorious Rohtang Pass, means “bed of corpses”. This is the day you have to look forward to. You’ve now been there, you’ve seen it, and you’ve beaten it. If there are 10 things you should ever do in your lifetime this is one of them. We will stop at the top where we will meet a few other bikers doing the same as us and they will also be laughing and shaking their heads.

Day 05 : Keylong – Sarchu [90kms]

We can afford to set off a little bit later today as it’s not a long distance. We climb up over the sensational Baralacha pass at 4,950 metres way up in the snow line and head for tonight’s campsite. We will get round the bonfire as we watch the sun go down and the moon come out. A few drinks, maybe a song or two !! Make sure you have your sleeping bags with you as it can get a bit chilly tonight.

Day 06 : Sarchu – Tso Moriri [210kms]

You will test the abilities of your bike today when we tackle the More Plains as we cross the border into Jammu Kashmir. It’s a high altitude desert, 10kms wide and 40kms long. It’s the most awesome feeling as we all ride together creating the biggest dust and sand cloud you can imagine. We have a real mixed bag of riding conditions today and if you want your moneys worth then we will take all the uphill short cuts. This will be my first ride on this route with the Bike so I am expecting a lot of fun. We camp tonight at the side of India’s highest lake and it will be an early to bed as we will be feeling the aches and pains of todays thrilling ride.

Day 07 : Tso Moriri – Pangong Tso [124kms]

The second part of today’s ride has never been ridden by foreigners before. Sure, people have ridden to Pangong Tso before but never on this route. We have special permission to ride on it today. It’s a mix of trails and tarmac sections and it will be a first for me also. We stay in wooden lodges tonight by the lake. The lake is 30% in India and 70% in China and up until a few years ago no one was allowed into this area as the military had a shoot to kill policy.

Day 08 : Pangong Tso – Leh [175kms]

We have a more relaxing days riding today in comparison to the last two days. Make sure that you have you cameras well charged as the views are breath taking on our long descent. We can look forward to a hot shower tonight as we hit the town of Leh for a well earned days rest.

Day 09 : Rest Day in Leh

Leh has everything you will need on a rest day. Massage, haircut, sight-seeing, internet cafes, ATM’s and market areas for those take home presents. Get yourself down to one of the local barber’s shops and try the wet shave with an open cut throat razor, sorry men only. Try the Sumbeam café in Old Fort road where you will find the most exquisite pizzas and ice cold beers. You will probably find the team hiding in there somewhere. Otherwise you can visit Leh Palace which was once the home of the Ladakh royal family. We will have someone at our hotel in the evening to give us talk on the history of Leh, Buddhism and local culture.

Day 10 : Leh – Sumur [120kms]

Today we will ride up to and over Khardung la, reputedly the world’s highest motorable road at an altitude of 5,539 metres, that’s 17,582 feet !!! The next time you will be at that height will be on your flight home. We will do a quick stop for a group photograph as we can only spend a small amount of time at that altitude. We drop down into the Nubra valley area where the river Nubra meets the river Shyok. The Shyok flows from the Siachan glacier which is the worlds second largest out with the polar regions. Tonight we have the campfire again and we stay in bamboo huts surrounded by apricot trees. It’s glorious.

Day 11 : Sumur – Hundar  [80kms]

We stay in the Nubra Valley and for the riders that want to hone their off road skills we will get off the beaten track and try some sand riding. It will be a short day in the saddle today however it will give us time to play around with the bikes. Expect to see wild camels today as we are again in a high altitude desert area.

Day 12 : Hundar – Leh [130kms]

Today we will get an early start as it’s our last day of riding. It’s a truly stunning ride back along the valley as we head back up over Khardung la. We will do a regroup just before Leh and all ride in together, lights on, horns blaring. We then prepare ourselves for our legendary end of trip party later in the evening.

Day 13 : Rest Day / Short Ride Out

Out Today you have two options. You can have a lazy day and relax or you can join some of the team as we do an 80km round trip to a very famous monastery at Hemis. It is the largest and richest monastery in the Ladakh region and is well worth a visit. We can also get some lunch whilst we are there.