Day: 1 Delhi

On arrival in Delhi you will be transferred to your hotel. Relax and refresh before this evenings welcome dinner at the rooftop restaurant in main bazar (market) Paharganj Delhi.

Day: 2 Delhi - Parwanoo (280 KM by coach)

Rise early for breakfast and head for Parwanoo by minibus, out of the congested city and humid plains in comfort, along the busy Grand Trunk Highway. Climbing through the jungle foothills of the Himalaya you reach the tiny hillside town of Parwanoo, here you?ll meet the tour team and motorbikes and get to know them at your pre-dinner briefing.

Day: 3 Parwanoo - Simla ( 100KM )

Today starts with a briefing to cover safety precautions, touring style, road conditions, and check of personal equipment, time to select your bike and become familiar with starting procedures, control layouts and bike handling. Ride along the beautifully lush and twisty roads of the Himalayan foothills to Simla, where you will have time to explore this colourful bygone capital of the British Raj.

Day: 4 Simla - Mandi ( 150KM )

Wind your way out of Shimla on the small back-roads through towering pine and fir forests. Descending the knife ridges, you encounter dense jungle and terraced hills not unlike Nepal. Your hotel in Mandi overlooks the fast-flowing mighty Beas River.

Day: 5 Mandi - Manali ( 110KM )

Kullu Valley has always been known as ?The Valley of the Gods?. Enjoy one of the most spectacular days of motorcycle touring anywhere in the world as you run the cliff hanging highway along almost vertical walls of jungle and cascading waterfalls of the Beas River Valley. An all-too-short ride brings you to the mountain resort town of Manali, with plenty of time to explore the shops and markets.

Day: 6 Manali ( Free Day )

A rest day today to get yourself more acclimatised to the altitude and explore the markets, temples and Tibetan refugee camps of this bustling mountain town before your ascent of the high passes to Ladakh.

Day: 7 Manali - Keylong ( 100KM )

Think of the Alps and let your imagination expand and go wild, this is the Rohtang-La! Start to climb right up one of the most beautiful alpine roads on earth. Though not that high a pass for the Himalaya (3978 m), it is one of the most spectacular. Have lunch at the top and descend to the Lahaul Valley to meet the Chandra River and our hotel in the Lower Market with its views across the river to the monastery.

Day: 8 Keylong - Sarchu ( 115 KM )

Crossing the Rohtang Pass you?ve entered a whole new world; Tibetan Buddhist monasteries hang off precipices. Noticing how dry it?s becoming as you climb toward the Tibetan Plateau, you run the entire length of the Lahaul Valley heading for you next high pass, Baralacha-La 4850 m (15,910 ft). From there descend to our luxury camp at Sarchu.

Day: 9 Sarchu - Tsokar Lake ( 140 KM )

Like a scene out of ?Fantasia? the day begins with a climb up the Gata Loops, 21 dizzy switchbacks on excellent surface, towards your third pass, Lachulung-La 5059 m (16,600ft). Descending through a moonscape gorge you arrive at the military post called Pang and then on to your luxury camp at Tsokar Lake.

Day: 10 Tsokar Lake - Leh ( 175KM )

An early start up more hairpin curves brings you to what is called the More Plains, 44 km of valley filled with nomads and yaks with glacial peaks either side. Taglang-La is the second highest motorable pass at 5328 m (17,482?) with views of all creation from the top. Descending countless hairpin turns you enter Miru Gorge, razorback ridges of every colour rock with tiny villages set among green/gold fields of barley.

Day: 11 Leh (Free day)

Today, take a much-deserved rest in the ancient capital of Ladakh. Leh is a mixture of old and new buzzing with shops, cafes, markets and activity. Viewed from the hilltop palace ruins, Leh looks medieval, but downtown, it?s all systems go. Explore Leh town or just relax in the hotel. There is an optional ride to explore the monasteries and upper valley with views of the Indus River and Stok mountain range below.

Day: 12 Leh - Lamayur ( 140KM )

Make for Lamayuru, a 10th century monastery at the head of the Indus Valley. The road sweeps alongside the river, over barren desert, through mud-walled villages set in shocking green fields, finally to the base of an immense gorge. No way out but up, you start the climb on what?s known as the ?hanger loops?, 112 improbable hairpins and, like a dream set on the moon?s surface, Lamayuru floats into view.

Day: 13 Lamayur - Leh ( 140KM )

After breakfast and a visit to the monastery, take the road back down the hanger loops to the village of Alchi. Another monastery, humble on the outside, hides some of the rarest works of Tibetan Buddhist wall paintings anywhere in Asia. You reach Leh late afternoon.

Day: 14 Leh - Nubra ( 160KM )

The day you?ve been waiting for. Conditions permitting, you?ll ride the 26.5 km to the highest motorable pass on Earth, Khardung-La 5,359m (17,582ft), After the last 14 km of rocky road, you will join an elite few motorcyclists that have stood on top of the world! The views over the mountains of Tibet to the north, the Karakoram Range, K-2, and back down to the Indus Valley and Zanskar are simply indescribable!

Day: 15 Nubra - Leh ( 160KM )

After a leisurely late morning, you have the option of visiting another monastery, described as the ?Potala of Ladakh?: Tikse is only 20 km from Leh and houses the largest statue of the future Buddha anywhere in the Himalaya. The views from the rooftop down the Indus Valley are a stunning contrast of river, green fields and barren high desert. Enjoy a Farewell Dinner tonight to say your goodbyes.

Day: 16 Leh - Delhi

Possibly the most exciting mountain flight you can have, retracing our entire route at 9000 m, and taking only an hour and a half! The Himalaya glaciers unfold beneath you as you pass mountain range upon mountain range on your way back to the low plains and your hotel in Delhi.

Day: 17 Delhi

After breakfast this morning your tour ends, transfer to airport for your onward travel arrangements. Or why not stay a few days longer and take an extension tour to the Taj Mahal?