Into the Thin Air (India - Himachal Pradesh/Ladakh/Kashmir)

Thirteen nights from Delhi to Srinagar, guided, across Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh and Kashmir on a Royal Enfield.

A flight to Chandigarh starts it, then Shimla in the Pir Panjal foothills, the summer capital of British India, and Sarahan on a pine forest road, with the Bhimakali temple, parts of which are around fifteen hundred years old.

Kalpa follows at the Kinnaur and Spiti junction, under the Shrikhand peaks, then the Spiti valley proper by Nako, Tabo and Dhankar, the old capital of the Spiti kings, with Pin Valley National Park, which is snow leopard and ibex country, though neither is ever promised. Kunzum La at 4,700 metres and the unsealed Losar to Gramphu section carry the route to Jispa, then Baralacha La, the twenty-two Gata Loops and Lachalung La above 5,000 metres to a camp at Tso Kar. Leh follows along the Indus, with a day ride over Khardung La, which the operator gives as 5,359 metres and which is among the highest motorable roads anywhere. Lamayuru, Kargil and Srinagar close the route, with a night on a houseboat on Dal Lake.

The bike hire is included, with a Royal Enfield Bullet, Classic or Himalayan; the full inclusions are not itemised on the operator’s page and are worth confirming at booking. Altitude is the serious consideration, since the route spends days above four thousand metres and acclimatisation is built into the schedule for good reason. June to September is the season, as the passes are shut the rest of the year. Fourteen days of this is a proper expedition and the price is remarkably modest for what it covers.