Himalayan Heights

Twelve nights from Delhi to Leh, guided, on Royal Enfields, at a deliberately unhurried pace and beyond the usual Ladakh loop.

Shimla comes first up the winding roads into Himachal, the old summer capital of British India, then the Spiti Valley, high desert on the edge of the Tibetan plateau, and Leh. The first few days are a steady climb rather than a dash: Delhi sits near sea level and Leh at around 3,500 metres.

Hanle is what sets this one apart: a frontier village on a restricted plain near the Chinese border, with an observatory above it and some of the darkest skies anywhere, which is why the astronomers chose it. Umling La follows at 5,798 metres, officially the highest motorable road in the world, then Pangong Tso, and the high plains around Hanle that the operator compares to Mongolia, which is a fair comparison: open, empty and with no fuel on them.

Bike hire is included, on a Royal Enfield Himalayan 450, with a discount for anyone bringing their own. Thirteen days is the right length for this route, and the extra nights go on acclimatisation rather than on distance, which is the difference between enjoying the altitude and suffering it. Hanle requires an inner line permit, which the operator arranges. The passes are open from roughly June to September, and a clear night at Hanle is worth losing sleep over. Leh itself has markets, cafes and the Shanti Stupa above the town, and the schedule finishes there rather than rushing to an airport.