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ADVENTURE TOURS >> BIKE TOUR |
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Duration : |
14 Nights / 15 Days |
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Destinations Covered: |
Delhi - Ladakh - Delhi
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| Day-1: |
| Flight to Leh, time to acclimatize. |
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| Pick-up at the international airport in Delhi, transfer to domestic airport, flight to Leh with Deccan Airways, departure around 5:30 am, arrival around 7:00 am, transfer to hotel, free time for the remainder of the morning to acclimatize to the elevation of 3,600 m. In the afternoon, we’ll meet to prepare for the Himalaya motorcycle tour, and have a group welcome dinner in the evening.
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| Day- 2: |
| Warm-up tour – Thikse and Hemis monastery, 80 km |
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Warm-up tour: our first excursion with our Enfield motorcycles to Ladakh’s most famous monasteries, Hemis and Thikse. That evening, we’ll be having an Indian tandoori dinner in the beer garden restaurant. |
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| Day-3: |
| Start of the Himalayan Motorcycle tour: Alchi – Basgo and Likkir, 80 km |
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| At the start of the Himalayan tour, we’ll visit the ruins of the ancient Basgo royal fortress and the picturesque Likir monastery with its huge, free-standing snake Buddha on the way to Alchi. We’ll spend the night in a basic guest house in Alchi (3,200 m), an oasis on the Indus River which is home to the oldest monastery in Ladakh. Our catering crew will pamper us today for the first time. |
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| Day 4 : |
| Over Fatu La pass to Kargil – Lamayaru monastery, 190 km |
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| We’ll pass the impressive Lamayuru monastery – and visit it on the way back –, continuing ever upwards to Fatu La pass (4,000 m).We’ll then descend into Baltistan Valley to the garrison city Kargil, the gateway to Zanskar valley. A hotel at the bazaar (2,600 m) will be our home for the night. |
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| Day 5 : |
| Suru Valley – camping, 90 km |
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| Through the beautiful, wild Suru valley – We’ll be leaving paved roads behind today, continuing on a dusty track on our motorcycles, at average speeds of around 20 kph. Ascending to the herdsman’s village of Parkachik, we’ll set up camp in a meadow at 3,900 meters, surrounded by towering mountains. |
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| Day 6: |
| Penzi La pass, Rangdum monastery, 90 km |
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| Today, we’ll ascend the adventurous track further until we reach Penzi La pass (4,401 m) and visit the tiny Rangdum mountain monastery before descending along a huge glacier at the entrance to Zanskar Valley. We’ll be camping on a mountain meadow at the Zanskar River at nearly 4,000 meters.
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| Day 7 : |
| Zanskar Valley, Padum and Karsha monastery, 90 km |
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| Around noon, we'll reach Padum, the only small town in Zanskar. Only around 1,000 people live here in the summer. In the afternoon, we’ll visit the Karsha monastery, a medieval oasis of peace and an important center of the Buddhist faith. We’ll be spending the night in the best guest house in Zanskar, the basic but comfortable Hotel Ibex at an altitude of approx. 3,500 m. |
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| Day 8: |
| Half-day tour to Thongde monastery, relaxing in Padum, 80 km |
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| Today, we’ll be heading out to the Thongde monastery, which overlooks the Zanskarriver from a rocky outcrop – a special highlight of the Himalayan bike tour and the favorite of our pilot group in 2006. The afternoon is set aside for relaxing in the hotel garden and shopping in Padum. Dinner in the hotel restaurant.
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| Day 9 : |
| Zanskar Valley, riding to Parkachik, 170 km |
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| Our return trip of our motorcycle tour of the Indian Himalayas starts with a longer ride. We’ll be crossing Penzi La pass (4,401 m) and spending another night camped on a meadow near Parkachik Glacier. |
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| Day 10: |
| Suru Valley, filling up in Kargil, camping in Lamayuru, 190 km |
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| Descending through Suru Valley on our motorcycles, to Kargil, we’ll come across our first filling station in 550 km! Crossing the Fatu La pass, we'll reach the Lamayuru monastery, setting up our camp there at an altitude of around 3,800 meters.
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| Day 11 : |
| Lower Zanskar Valley to Chilling, overnight in Leh, 140 km |
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| We'll have the opportunity to witness the morning meditation in the monastery – an unforgettable experience. Next, a steep descent to the Indus Valley. Our next track starts at the confluence of the Indus and Zanskar rivers. The 40 km along the wild Zanskarriver to Chilling, a village of coppersmiths, is one of the most breathtaking motorcycle routes anywhere in the Himalayas! We'll be reaching Leh – the end of our motorcycle tour – in the late afternoon. |
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| Day 12: |
| Day trip to Khardung La, the world’s highest pass! 110 km |
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| Today we’ll be reaching the high point of our Himalaya Bike Tour – literally. 50 km on the road and 2,000 meters ascent to Khardung La pass, the highest motorable road in the world. There's nothing else like it! There will be time for relaxation and shopping in the afternoon, followed by a farewell dinner with the crew.
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| Day 13: |
| Flight to Delhi, sightseeing and shopping |
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| Our scheduled Deccan Airways flight will be departing around 7:00 am and arriving in Delhi around 9:00 am. Our good midrange hotel is centrally located in Karol Bagh, downtown New Delhi, the modern business center of the city. We’ll take time for sightseeing in the bazaars of New and Old Delhi.
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| Day 14: |
| Motorcycle Tour to Agra to see the TajMahal, or relaxation and city sightseeing in Delhi |
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| For those of you who would like to spend another seven to eight hours on Indian highways, we'll be saddling up on our Enfield Motorcycles for a 190-km ride to Agra to see the world-renowned TajMahal. If you'd rather take it easy, strolling through the bazaars and doing a bit of shopping, feel free to take the day off in Delhi. We'll be getting back together in the evening for our farewell dinner in a Tandoori restaurant, followed by the transfer to the airport.
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| Day 15: |
| Departure from Delhi to home country |
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| We'll reach the airport around midnight for your flight home or to your next destination.
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| Total distance covered: approx. 1,300 km, around 600 km on unpaved tracks |
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