This expedition type journey starts from a beautiful Himalayan town, Manali with proper acclimatization exercises scientifically designed by experiences gathered from several foreign operators and cyclists during last several years. We expose our quest to “include luxury in adventure” fully in this tour through our room size double layer tents, very comfortable & warm bedding, western commodes and multi cuisine mobile canvas restaurant. We have observed the requirement of vitamins and energy while cycling on this terrain and designed our meals and daily refreshments/ pack lunches in the best way to fulfill. Our guides are highly experienced and cooks create wonders on this altitude.
The route and general observations:
This bike tour crosses 4 high mountain passes and the journey of 485 Kms is covered with 8 camps in extremely scenic places. The journey under the Himalayan ranges is fascinating and the solitude offers best way to interact with this beauty of shining mountains. Our last climb to Khardung La, the highest motorable pass of the world from Leh gives the ultimate reward of the expedition. Leh, the capital of Ladakh which is known as the land of high passes or roof top of the world is a beautiful town at 3600 Meters where we spend 3 days to rest and explore. It’s situated on the banks of the Indus between the two highest mountain ranges in the world, the Karakoram to the north and mighty Himalayas to the south.
- International airport to hotel in Delhi transfer by small coach/ medium or large cars as per the group size
- Sightseeing/ monument visits as per the itinerary
- Delhi to biking beginning point and back to Delhi transfers from bike end point
- Transfer to international airport in Delhi after the trip
- Transportation of cook, kitchen staff and biking guide.
- Transportation of bike mechanic required by the group on extra cost
- Supporting vehicle during the bike tour
- Train tickets as per the program (wherever applicable)
Accommodation – city hotels with breakfast & remaining on full board
- Hotels as per the program
- Biking duration camps with all meals
- Gala dinner at Delhi with expedition mementoes/ souvenirs
Staff
- Cook and kitchen helper (01)
- Bike guide (01) from Delhi to Delhi
- Local sightseeing/ city/ monument guide
- Camp staff and drivers for supporting vehicles
Equipment
- Luxury tents for the members
- Staff tent for cook+ helper and biking guide
- Aluminum cots, thick mattresses, bed sheets, quilts, room chairs, tables etc.
- Kitchen tent, chairs, tables, stools, utensils, crockery and cutlery
- Toilet tents and toiletries
- Medical kit and oxygen cylinders
- Maps and directions
Administrative assistance to the expedition team
- Insurance of the staff
- Inner Line permits/ restricted area permits
The cost doesn’t include
- Air tickets of the expedition members
- Any kind of insurance of the clients
- Personal expenditures of the clients
- Helicopter rescue
- Bikes
Bikes on hire
- You can get any kind of mountain bike and Royal Enfield Motorcycles on hire from our retail shop.
Extension programs
You can write for extension programs to Taj Mahal/ Rajasthan or Varanasi after or before the expedition.
Day 01: Arrive Delhi: on arrival at international airport, you will meet our office representative and your expedition guide who will take you to the hotel for overnight stay.
Day 02: Delhi to Chandigarh by train (3 hours) and drive to Mandi (5 hours): We take the morning train Shatawdi which is one of the most comfortable and fastest trains in India to reach to Chandigarh, 295 Kms, which is the gateway to Himachal Pradesh. From here we drive to Mandi by coach, another 200 Kms on nice roads. Mandi is situated on the banks of Beas and known as “little Varanasi” because of its several temples and knowledge from the ancient period. We visit the temples of Trilokinath, Bhootnath and Panchvakhtar during our visit in Mandi and explore the very old and colorful market. Overnight at a nice hotel situated at top of the hill.
Day 03: Mandi to Manali drive, 106 Kms and 4 hours: Morning we start driving to Manali through beautiful Kullu Valley and check into our hotel before lunch. Rest of the day is to assemble our bikes, get the feeling of the surroundings because it’s the place from where cycling will commence and later after lunch we will cycle for one hour. Overnight at hotel.
Day 04: Full day cycling and exploring temples and monuments: This is the day to increase the duration on our bikes, we take the route of Naggar and visit ancient Naggar Castle and have our lunch here. The journey goes through several small villages of Kullu Valley and evening we explore the Manali town with dinner in the market.
Day 05: Manali to Marhi cycle, 36 Kms: In the mountains, certain beliefs are very strong and a powerful nature is always there to experience and get support. A Buddhist Monk performs a ritual (Pooja) at the hotel before we start our major expedition to high passes of Ladakh. Then we start to Marhi from Manali on Manali- Leh highway. After 6-7 Kms the road slowly starts getting elevation and the grip on our paddles strengthens. The road is fine except the last few kilometers where you find water and small boulders on the road coming through the mountain streams and possibilities are there that at least one time you encounter the army vehicles coming towards Manali from Leh and they might take few extra minutes to your arrival to Marhi but it is not for sure every time. The facing mountains are high, snowcapped and beautiful from where numerous small streams emerge and move down like the streams of milk at some places. The last stretch of Gulaba is the small area of wild flowers and herbs which create several colors in your journey and through the several curves of road, you see the open valley of Manali you have left behind. You reach Marhi, which is a small tourist settlement with temporary establishments and the place remains under snow for 4-5 months. You will have your first night at a luxury camp.
Day 06: Marhi to Keylong 3350 M, 74 Kms: Morning at Marhi is extremely fresh and vies are stunning, we leave our camp and ride for about 12 Kms straight to our first mountain pass, Rohtang La pass. The last 2 Kms are over an extremely old glacier of Rani Nalla and the views are fantastic with surrounding mountain peaks. Rohtang Pass is “must see destination for the Indian tourists” so is always covered with hundreds of tourists enjoying snow. The pass is spread in a huge area and the road from the pass to another side is extremely nice in the beginning. One can watch the CB Ranges facing to him, the high mountains & peaks on Lahoul side and the barren valley leading towards Spiti- the forbidden land in the Trans Himalayas. We reach to Koksar after 19 Kms downhill cycling, the place to register yourselves and the place to eat also. Now we are in the Lahoul valley, which is a house of two religions under one roof, Buddhism and Hindu. The road moves along the biggest river of the state, Chandra and through Sissu and Gondhla, we reach Tandi on the foot hills if Pir Panjal Ranges. Tandi is the meeting point of two rivers, Chandra (coming from Spiti valley) and Bhaga (coming from Baralacha), the both rivers meet here and flow towards Pakistan with the name of Chinab. We see the runs of Gondhla Fort before reaching Tandi and from there; Keylong is one more hours ride. We reach Keylong, the headquarter of Lahoul & Spiti and check into our hotel.
Day 7: Keylong to Patseo 3820 M, 48 Kms: This day is relatively easy as we don’t have any pass to cross and even the distance is also not much. On the route, which is dusty and rocky, we can stop at a small monastery of Jispa and later after 5 Kms; we reach Darcha- the base camp for the popular trekking routs to Zanskar. From here we cross a bridge and start an ascent to Patseo. We now get a sense of the isolation of the area, with a few sheep dotted around and we begin to enter the territory of the Lamas. In the far horizon you can see the bleak and awesome spectacle of the Higher Himalayan ranges. Patseo is a open ground where till 1960 a temporary office of the Government of India was functional to control the trade on silk route between India and Tibet. The ground was the place of trade exchanges in ancient times but today it is used by the Indian army as its base for Ladakh, both the store the commodities and secure the boundaries. The campsite is beautiful and you can enjoy the evening nicely.
Day 8: Patseo to Sarchu 4255 M, 58Kms: We have another challenge today to cross the Baralacha La Pass, off course it is hard and long but the surroundings are too supportive. In the total isolation, you can “live” with your bike and love it more as your very reliable companion of this wonderful expedition. Zing Zing Bar is a place from where you rally start climbing, don’t expect any bar here this is probably the sound of an isolated soldier which has created such name at this barren place. On the way, you will find Whisky Nalla and Brandy Nalla after Sarchu and before Sarchu; you have a place named Bharatpur City. The soldiers working on road constructions and maintenance have used such names to eliminate their monotony and need for a bar, whisky and city at this barren land which only had the monks, shepherds and traders to Tibet for ages. Close to the top of Baralacha La pass is a beautiful lake named Suraj Tal, the lake of Sun and the origin of Bhaga River which moves towards Tandi and meets with Chandra River. This is one of the biggest Indian River and moves through Punjab to Pakistan. The banks of Chinab have soulful stories including the story of Sohni and Mehiwal, the two great lovers. From Baralacha La pass, we descend down to the valley of Sarchu and after Kilang Sarai, we reach at our fixed campsite for the overnight stay.
Day 9: Sarchu to Whisky Nalla 56 Kms: From Sarchu, few kilometers are flat cycling in the morning but we are soon tackling the zigzag "21 loops of Gata" at 15,030 feet up the canyon wall. We reach the summit of the Nakeela Pass and descend to the Whisky Nalla, where our camp is set for the night. The day passes some beautiful arid mountain scenery of the high ranges.
Day 10: Whisky Nalla- Moray Plains to Debring over Lachalung La & Tanglang La 82 Kms: Morning we are set for ascending the second highest pass on the Manali-Leh highway up to Lachalung La. The road here is likely to be the worst of the trip with a distinct lack of tarmac, it's very gravelly and there are many loose stones. We have a long descent to Pang down a steep sided gorge followed by an 8 Kms switchback climb before reaching the flat top of the Moray Plains. This barren area is known for its extreme temperatures in the morning and evening, fast winds and sandstorms. The only sign of life is the hardy Nomadic Changpas who can be seen tending their yaks in this most desolate place. We camp at Debring 20 Kms below the world's second highest pass, the Tanglang La.
Day 11: Debring to Rumptse 4200 M, 51 Kms: The day moves through the wonderful scenic surroundings and we get down to Rumptse for our last camp night.
Day 12: Rumptse to Leh 3600 M, 91 Kms: As we continue the flat ride and descent up to Upshi the scenery changes dramatically as we arrive in a fertile irrigated valley by a river dotted by pretty villages and Stupas. The spectacular red colored mountains around us add to the beauty and richness of the scenery. Crossing the Indus River the road improves. This is remarkably an easy ride and we pass the Thiksey Monastery before we reach Leh.
Day 13: Leh Rest Day: This is the day to relax yourself, have small walks in the market and we organize visits to few monasteries this day to experience Leh.
Day 14: Leh to Khardung - La Pass and back Leh, 41 Kms (one side): This day we take another challenge to bike up to the highest motorable road to Khardung La Pass, the highest pass of the world connected with road. The view from the top is spectacular, stretching from the Indus valley in the South over the endless peaks and ridges of the Zanskar range to the giants of the Saser Massif in the North. Khardung La is the entrance to Nubra Valley and being at this altitude with your bike is surely an experience and achievement for the whole life. This is what you have probably you decide to come on this trip. We some time at the top and bike back to Leh.
Day 15: Leh – Delhi flight: Morning transfer to the Leh airport for your flight to Delhi. It is a spectacular flight of one hour by around noon you reach to your Delhi hotel. We organize a optional tour of Delhi for half day and later in the evening after gala dinner, we drop you to the international airport for your flight back home.
Getting there: Your nearest international airport is Delhi where you will meet with our expedition manager and you will be escorted towards the initial point of your adventure as per the program details. After the expedition/ adventure journey, you arrive back to Delhi. After farewell ceremony, you will be driven to international airport to board flight back to your home.
Air tickets: We have our partners in almost every foreign country, so if you need any assistance in your air tickets bookings, you are always welcome to speak to us to know about our partner close to you.
Cargo Management: We have strong tie ups with the cargo management companies to get your consignments clear timely in Delhi. In maximum cases, you will only need to spend just 2 hours for getting your consignment delivery. Once you send the documents and the boxes details, we start locating them in India.
Insurance: It is a condition of joining our trips that you must be adequately insured. All persons are expected to arrange their own insurance. Polices should cover any potential risks involved in such adventure.
Our hotels and camps: We offer you best economy hotels in cities and towns and very comfortable tents with maximum possible facilities in the mountains. We provide the most luxurious camps fitted with dining areas and modern toilet facilities.
Adventure India briefing: We have excellent maps, images and movies of majority of our adventure expeditions/ journeys and sports. A short briefing in our offices is highly recommended so the team understands logistics, forecast problems and know where the solutions would be. We stress on planning, planning and planning in any adventure expedition and till now we have remained successful in all of our expeditions just because of our planning. So we need you to be an active part of it.
Rescue and helicopter evacuation: if the expeditions are well planned, rescue operations can be avoided. In the history of 14 years, we didn’t encounter any serious requirement of rescue but still we can tie up with the agencies to provide helicopter evacuation on your request and willingness to pay the charges.
Ground transportation: We provide the ground transportation comprising of best available cars/ coaches in fine roads and rough trucks in remote areas of the Indian mountains.
Refreshments & food: We offer a mixture of Vegetarian and Non vegetarian food during the trip. We have cooks who make Korean, Japanese and Continental food along with Indian food. We offer the heavy and healthy refreshments during the biking to keep your energy level fine and high.
Our guides & mechanics: We have best experienced bike guides and mechanics who assist the tour leaders and lead the groups of any size individually.
Ground Support system: We have fantastic ground support system developed in collaboration with the local people of nearest villages, army camps, porters and local guides. We have re discovered the use of traditional communication system also along with the satellite phones to stay in touch with the groups at maximum possible.
Our bikes can be hired: We supply best mountain bikes and Royal Enfield Motorcycles from our retail shop on hire. You can ask for any number of bikes on reasonable rates.
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