Himalayan Escape

Seven nights in Ladakh, guided, in a loop out of Leh on Royal Enfields, which is the short version of the Himalayan tours in the range.

The monasteries along the Indus come first, Lamayuru among them, standing on eroded clay hills above the valley. Umling La follows, a pass at 5,798 metres that is among the highest motorable roads on earth, built by the Indian army and open only in summer, with a tea stall at the top of it.

Beyond the pass is a thirty-kilometre plain of sand, water crossings and broken ground that the operator calls India’s Mongolia, which is a fair description: there is nothing on it at all. Pangong Tso comes next, a saltwater lake at 4,225 metres on the Chinese border, then the Nubra Valley, where sand dunes sit between green villages, and Turtuk near the Pakistan border, which was on the other side of the line until 1971. Khardung La carries the route back to Leh.

Bike hire is included, on a Royal Enfield Himalayan 450, with a discount for anyone bringing their own. Eight days at this altitude is tight, and acclimatisation is the thing to take seriously: Leh itself sits at around 3,500 metres and the route goes a great deal higher. The passes are open from roughly June to September. Anyone with a fortnight would be better served by one of the longer Himalayan tours, which build in more time to adjust. For a rider with only a week to spare, though, this reaches the same high ground as the three-week expeditions do.