Trans-Himalayan on Royal Enfield (Ladakh & Zanskar, India)

Fourteen nights across Ladakh and Zanskar, guided, on a Royal Enfield, including the highest motorable road in the world.

Zanskar is the part that makes this one unusual. Most Ladakh tours stay on the main circuit; this one crosses into Zanskar on an off-road track where luggage has to be strapped down, which is a different order of riding.

A flight reaches Leh at 3,550 metres, with a day to acclimatise. Hemis follows, the largest monastery in Ladakh, and Thiksey, twelve storeys stacked up a hill. Alchi and Temisgam come next, then Lamayuru over the Fotu La, a monastery above eroded ridges with the Maitreya Buddha carved into the rock at Mulbekh on the way, and Kargil. Padum follows in Zanskar, with Karsha, the largest monastery in the valley, and the medieval palace at Zangla. Shinku La at 5,091 metres carries the route out to Jispa, then Tso Kar, a salt lake at 14,850 feet, Hanle with its observatory and dark skies, and Umling La at the top.

The bike hire is included; the full inclusions were not itemised on the operator’s page and are worth confirming at booking. June to September is the season, since the passes are shut the rest of the year. Altitude is the serious consideration, with days spent above four thousand metres, and anyone with a heart or lung condition should take medical advice first. Fifteen days is the operator’s longest Himalayan route and the only one that reaches Zanskar, which for a rider who has done Ladakh already is the obvious next step.