alongside this achingly beautiful
stretch of water and roughhewn
tracks before reaching our
accommodation; bespoke yurts
complete with flush toilets and
enormous radiators.
In what was frankly a stupid idea,
the rest of the riders persuaded me
into an 8am swim in the lake before
leaving for our last campsite of the
tour in distant Hundar. The water was
painfully cold, and the biting wind as
we left the water reduced everything
to button mushroom dimensions – I
wasn’t impressed!
The ride up to the Hundar valley
was some of the most challenging
we’d encountered with kilometres
of sweeping roads interspersed with
incredibly hard sand sections across
the valley floor. The Enfield’s were
not light and the effort of hustling
them through the rally sections of
the highway at high altitude left us
exhausted but with a real sense of
shared endeavour.
The campsite in Hundar is owned
by the affable tour Doctor who has
been travelling with us the whole
time. All the food came from the
organic plants at the site, and the Doc
entertains us with his selection of
mad stories, at least half of which are
slightly true.
The following day we explored
the local region on the bikes and
then spent the evening riding
camels, swimming in the local river
and watching local dancers, ably
supported by Harley who broke out
his Cossack dance at the end of the
show.
All too soon it was time to leave
Hundar and take on the final
challenge of the tour, the Khardung
La Pass, the highest motorable road
in the world.
Incredibly there had been a cycling
race on the mountain pass for the
first part of the morning, so we had to
wait for two hours before we hit the
road. Thanks to our local fixer Anu,
we got the holeshot ahead of the other
traffic and ‘flat track’ it to the top in
a record-breaking time despite some
appalling roads on the way there.
The summit was strangely quiet
thanks to the earlier road closure, so
we got the chance to take in what we’d
just achieved over the past two weeks,
as the myriad of prayer flags flutter in
the Himalayan wind.
With Khardung La behind us, we
descended back to Leh with more
than a hint of sadness, knowing
that this was the last ride on the
bikes before they go on to be part
of somebody else’s adventure.
Tomorrow we would be back in
Delhi and on the way back home and
somehow it didn’t seem right.
We’d had an incredible journey,
shared everything from warm beers
to epic experiences and most of all,
spent time riding bikes in a truly
remarkable and beautiful country.
The organisation had been faultless,
the Enfield’s strangely endearing and
the company the best we could ever
have hoped for.
This is a special place, and this was
a special adventure ... JC
For this trip, all the riders elected to ride
the Royal Enfield 500cc Classic, a bike that
is incredibly common across the whole of
India. It might have more than a foot in the
past, but in a way that’s part of the charm
of the machine. However, Julian says that if
you want to make things a tad easier, Ride
Expeditions now offer the RE Himalayan as
the bike of choice, although the Classis is still
available.
In terms of covering the terrain, The
Himalayan is perfect for the job. The gentle
power of the big single cylinder is well
matched to roads with incredibly variable
surfaces and landscape that varies from the
stunning to the downright scary. With plenty
of suspension travel, open cockpit and a
surprisingly comfortable seat, the Himalayan
has a certain charm that sits well with
the whole idea of adventure travel in this
stunning and beautiful country.
TRAVERSE 107