KhardungLa pass – at 5,380m above sea level it is reputed to be the highest motorable pass on Earth!
Outstanding natural beauty everywhere we go.
Countless hairpin mountain turns.
Start your love affair with Tibetan momos! Trust us, they’re delicious!
Visit Lamayuru - an 11th century monastery surrounded by a moonlike landscape.
Visit Alchi & Thiksey monasteries in Ladakh.
Stroll the streets and Tibetan markets in Leh town.
Pangong Lake – the world's highest salt lake and possibly the world's most amazing views.
This Royal Enfield motorcycle tour takes in the most spectacular locations and routes of the Ladakh region in the Indian Himalayas.
You’ll visit ancient monasteries, ride over some of the world’s highest passes, pass through the vast Nubra Valley, spend a night next to the world’s highest salt lake and wander the Tibetan markets that line the streets of the Leh – the capital of Ladakh.
If you want to experience the very best of Ladakh on a fully supported Royal Enfield motorcycle tour, this is the trip for you!
You’ll touch down in Leh, the capital of the Ladakh region. With breathtaking mountain peaks in every direction, it’s a truly special place to start your holiday!
You’ll be met at the airport by your tour leader and transferred to the hotel for checking in. After lunch on the terrace, you’ll be given a briefing of the trip ahead. You’ll then have some time to explore this wonderful little town before everyone gets together for the welcome dinner and campfire.
The first riding day of this Royal Enfield motorcycle tour will instantly have you grinning from ear to ear! It’s an exhilarating ride on excellent tarmac roads that wind alongside the Indus River.
The conditions today are excellent, giving you the chance to really get to know the Royal Enfields and enjoy the outstanding scenery.
Our destination for the day is Lamayaru – a beautiful 11t century monastery set within a moonlike landscape. The relaxed vibe of this place is infectious, with the peaceful sounds of the occasional jingling bells from slow spinning prayer wheels and monks going about their daily business. This is a very special place that will make you feel a very very long way away from home, in a good way!
After a relaxed morning and a stroll around the monastery we’ll hop back on the trusty Enfield’s and make our way back towards Leh. We’ll branch off onto some new roads, visiting a giant golden buddha and Alchi Monastery – Ladakh’s oldest monastery – along the way.
We start the day with fast sweeping roads that cut through the Indus Valley before reaching our first checkpoint.
After your guide has sorted out all the paperwork we will begin the climb up ChangLa pass. Sat at 5,360m above sea level, the air is thin but the views are simply spectacular.
Dropping down the other side we’ll weave through the green valley, stopping for a picnic next to a stream with nearby wild horses and roaming yaks.
Our destination is Pangong Tso – a 134km long lake, two thirds of which is in Tibet. It’s a beautiful place and riding alongside the crystal clear waters with reflections of snow capped mountains is an amazing feeling.
Start the day with a cup of tea, sat next to the highest salt lake in the world before saddling up for another incredible day’s riding Royal Enfields through the Himalayas!
Leaving the lake behind us, we follow a narrow valley alongside the raging Shyok River. The scenery is fast changing, producing fresh breathtaking views around every corner.
We reach Nubra where the mountains part and the valley opens up into a vast expanse of sand dunes and leafy villages.
It’s the final day of riding on this Royal Enfield motorcycle tour and today is the big one: KhardungLa pass. Sitting at 5,380m above sea level, it is reputed to be the highest civilian motorable road in the world. The roads up to the top are incredible and when we reach the summit we’ll stop for the celebratory group photo with the sign! It’s high fives all round before we hop back on the Enfield’s and cruise the newly tarmacked, beautifully windy roads back down to where we started. Cold beer on the terrace? Why not.
With the riding done, you have some time to relax and explore. The tiny market streets of Leh are a great place to do some souvenir shopping and the 9 storey palace overlooking the town is well worth a visit.
In the evening we’ll get together for a farewell dinner at an excellent restaurant in the town. It may have only been a one week trip, but you’ll be blown away by the amount you’ll have seen and experienced!
We’ll taxi you to the airport where we will say our goodbyes. It’s an incredible flight out of the mountains so make sure you fight for the window seat!
Quality twin-share accommodation is included as per the itinerary. Please see ‘Optional Extras’ for the single room supplement option.
Please see the daily itinerary details for more info on each nights accommodation.
You’ll be collected from Leh airport (IXL) on the morning of the first day.
At the end of the trip we will arrange transfers back to the same airport in Leh (IXL).
All entrance fees and riding permits needed for the tour.
Your tour will be led and managed by a highly experienced member of the Ride Expeditions team (trained as a wilderness first response medic).
Ride Expeditions Ltd is committed to customer satisfaction and consumer financial protection. At no extra cost to you, and in accordance with ‘The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018’, all passengers booking with Ride Expeditions Ltd are fully insured for the initial deposit, and subsequently the balance of monies paid as detailed in your booking confirmation form.
The policy also includes repatriation if required, arising from the cancellation or curtailment of your travel arrangements due to the insolvency of Ride Expeditions Ltd. This insurance has been arranged by Towergate Travel through Evolution Insurance.
During the COVID-19 crisis, every rider that requested a refund was issued a cash refund.
All fuel for your motorcycle is provided by us and we carry spare fuel in our support vehicle for the sections of the route where fuel stations are scarce.
Your motorcycle tour in India will be guided by an experienced local.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner is provided on most days.
Please see the daily itinerary to see what meals are included on each day.
A mechanic will be riding at the back of the group, ready to attend to any issues that may arise.
At least one member of the support team will have been trained as a Wilderness First Response medic.
An extensive medical kit including a defibrillator (AED) & stretcher is carried in the support vehicle.
We also have consulting doctors on call, 24/7, who are always ready to assist in the case of an emergency. Our doctors are fully briefed on all riders medical info prior to the tour, they know what we do, where we are riding, exactly what we have in our medical kit and what training our medics have.
Tours are accompanied by GPS trackers and a satellite messenger device so our doctor and office can see exactly where we are and can maintain communication.
If you have you your own suitable & reliable motorcycle at the start point, you are quite welcome to use that for this trip. If not, we will provide a rental motorcycle for you… Please see the Dates & Prices section for available bikes.
Since the day Ride Expeditions started running tours in Cambodia back in 2012, we have been dedicated to supporting the local community.
Part profits from every motorcycle tour are donated to M’Lop Tapang – a local Cambodian charity dedicated to bettering the lives of young children & their families.
A Ride Expeditions riding jersey with your name printed on the back.
Playing our part in rainforest & wildlife conservation and in an effort to off-set our carbon emissions, we donate part profits to World Land Trust.
Our Himalayan motorcycle tours are accompanied by at least one support vehicle. There will always be space for any of the riders to sit inside should they need a rest at any point throughout the tour.
These backup vehicles will also carry all of your luggage, spare parts, tools, extensive medical kit (in addition to the kit carried by the tour medic), defibrillator (AED) & stretcher.
Our support vans will usually be no more than 5-15 minutes behind us on the bikes & meet with us at the rest/ drink stops & lunch. The drivers will hand out water, fruit juice, chocolate bars & fruit etc at each of the rest stops.
The truck will follow behind us all the way to our accommodation where the driver will have your bags sent to your rooms.
We’ll welcome you with a bag of Ride Expeditions goodies which will include:
You’ll need to book a return flight to Leh, India (IXL) to arrive on or before the morning of Day 1 of this trip. You will then fly out of the same airport on the last day of the trip. (If you are booking a flight home from Delhi on the same day, please allow yourself ample time to make the connection).
It is important you either:
Please be aware that you are liable for all damages caused to the motorcycle.
If you don't want the potential hassle of being charged for motorcycle damage at the end of the ride, we offer our own damage protection plan. Please see the 'optional extras' section for more information.
It is a condition of booking that you obtain appropriate travel insurance that covers you for riding the same capacity motorcycle that you’ll be riding on this motorcycle tour.
The insurance must cover emergency evacuation, medical bills, repatriation etc.
Road / adventure style kit is the way to go on this motorcycle tour, rather than off-road or enduro gear. So that means a good helmet, protective riding jacket and trousers, ideally with CE or equivalent approved armour on the pointy bits – elbows, knees and shoulders.
You are also going to need good leather gloves, a neck tube, thermal base layers and a sturdy pair of motorcycle boots.
Please bring waterproofs if your kit doesn’t keep out the wet stuff.
Single room accommodation is available for every night of the trip.
Yes, unless you are a national of Nepal, Bhutan or the Maldives. If you are from an eligible country, the easiest way to get one is to apply for an e-tourist visa online, but make sure you visit the official site… Here’s the link.
Assuming you live in an eligible country / territory you can apply online up until a minimum of 4 days in advance of the date of arrival with a window of 120 days. So for example, if you are applying on 1st Sept you can select arrival date from 5th Sept to 2nd Jan.
For peace of mind, we recommend you do this nicely in advance to avoid any delays or issues. The visa lasts 60 days so unless you decide to extend your trip for vastly more than the length of the tour, then this should be plenty. When you arrive at Delhi airport, there is an immigration form to fill in before you queue up to show your visa. Now we all know Brits love to queue but don’t wait to get to the front just to have the man send you to the back past everyone to fill in the form, it’s just embarrassing.
Follow this link for the most up to date entry requirements. This is a link to the UK foreign office website – if you are not a UK resident, please search for the equivalent info from your home country’s foreign office.
Visa costs, if applicable, are not included in the tour price.
To secure your place we simply need a £500 non-refundable deposit. The remainder does not need to be paid until 60 days prior to the tour start date.
This Royal Enfield motorcycle tour will be followed by either one or two support vehicles depending on group size. This means that all your luggage goes in there rather than having it bounce around on the back your Royal Enfield for miles on end. You just need to take either a tank bag or small rucksack for your camera and any travel essentials.
Yes. Here at Ride Expeditions, we take the necessary precautions to ensure that we protect both ourselves and you as the customer, with insurances covering financial failure, public liability, professional indemnity and employers liability (you will need your own travel insurance).
To obtain this insurance we must meet strict safety standards and local regulations. We must also carry out thorough risk assessments about all aspects of a tour before tyres can hit tarmac (…or dirt!).
NO! Although the locals may be drinking tap water, doing the same has a strong possibility of playing havoc with your insides. It’s called Delhi Belly for a reason.
We recommend that you drink only bottled water and that you check the seal before drinking. If you choose canned drinks, give the lid a good wipe beforehand just to be sure. And when brushing your teeth, rinsing with bottled water is a good idea too.
Yes. All passengers booking with Ride Expeditions Ltd are fully insured for the initial deposit, and subsequently the balance of monies paid as detailed in your booking confirmation form. The policy also includes repatriation if required, arising from the cancellation or curtailment of your travel arrangements due to the insolvency of Ride Expeditions Ltd. This insurance has been arranged by Towergate Travel through Evolution Insurance.
Not riding the motorcycle, no (although this will of course depend on the extent of your limited mobility). However, we may be able to accommodate you in our support vehicle. We advise you to give us a call and we can discuss.
In theory yes, although in practice, Wi-Fi coverage can be slow at best, slower on average and non-existent on many occasions. We advise you activate your ‘out-of-office’!
For the most accurate and up to date info, we advise you visit the Indian page of the ‘Travel Health Pro’ website.
Please also consult with your own doctor at home at least 8 weeks before your trip.
This one is both simple and complicated. The local currency is Indian Rupees – INR. However, unless you are a resident of India, importing rupees is prohibited so you cannot actually obtain the notes outside the country itself like you can for other countries.
You can either bring in other currencies to exchange when in India, or simply withdraw rupees from ATMs as you would back at home. Well we say that, but if you are in a remote village with only three residents, a yak and an elderly donkey, there may not be an ATM, so don’t expect universal coverage throughout the trip!
If you do bring cash, US dollars are universally welcome. Bitcoin, coloured buttons and belly button fluff are not. Whatever you bring, try not to exchange too much at the arrival airport – the exchange rate is terrible! There are ATMs at the airport too.
To be legally riding in India you are required to carry your local driving licence, which must cover the size of bike you will be riding. This will also be a stipulation of any travel insurance company too.
You will also need an International Driving Permit (IDP). An IDP is basically an official, multi-language translation of your driving licence.
Average group sizes are 8-9 riders and we limit the groups to 12 riders.
If you cancel your booking before departure, cancellation charges will be applied as follows:
Please refer to our Terms & Conditions for further info regarding cancellations, changes and transferring your trip to a friend.
For the most accurate and up to date info on travel advice for India, we advise you to visit the foreign office website.
Follow this link for Indian advice from the UK foreign office. As we are a UK company, this is the official government advice we follow. If you are not a UK resident, we advise you search for the equivalent info from your own country’s foreign office, as travel advice may differ.
The minimum required number for this trip to run is 6 riders. We reserve the right to cancel the tour if this number is not met and we will provide you with a minimum of 56 days notice. Please know that this is an absolute last resort for us and we will always do everything in our power to avoid this happening.
We accept GBP payments by Visa, Mastercard & American Express and direct bank transfers. Please get in touch if you would rather pay in another currency – we’ll do our best to accommodate!
There are 2 types of sockets in India – 3 Pin connections – Type D, or 2 pin connections -Type C.
