Nepal Motorbike Tour (Kathmandu to Mustang Valley)

Eleven nights from Kathmandu to the Mustang Valley, guided, 950 kilometres through central Nepal on a Royal Enfield.

Nine hundred and fifty kilometres over twelve days is a modest distance and a deliberate one: these are mountain roads where thirty miles can take half a day, and the schedule reflects that rather than pretending otherwise.

Kathmandu opens it, with the stupas and temples of the old city, which between them hold several centuries of Newari craftsmanship and were substantially rebuilt after the 2015 earthquake. The route then works into central Nepal, with off-road trails through the Manang Valley, which sits behind the Annapurna range and is closer to Tibet than to Kathmandu in its architecture and its farming. Mustang is the destination, a high-altitude valley in the rain shadow of the mountains, with the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges in view for much of the way and ancient villages and temples along it.

The bike hire is included; the full inclusions were not itemised on the operator’s page and are worth confirming at booking, along with the permit arrangements for the restricted sections. October to April is the season, since the monsoon between June and September makes the hill roads unpredictable and the landslips frequent. Altitude is a consideration on the upper sections. Twelve days is a sensible length for a first Nepalese riding trip, and the two eight-thousand-metre peaks either side of the route are rarely out of sight in clear weather. The Manang off-road sections are the demanding part and the rest is manageable for anyone with reasonable trail experience.