Ladakh Bike Trip

You reserve your spot for free and pay nothing to join. Once enough travellers have signed on, usually around 10, we confirm the departure and email you a confirmation with an invoice for the full trip price. You pay it by card or bank transfer within 7 days, in US dollars, pounds, euros, Australian dollars, Canadian dollars, New Zealand dollars or Indian rupees, and the price shown for each date is what you pay.

No. You can book as a pillion passenger with no licence at all, riding behind a local rider-guide for the whole trip. To self-ride, you need a valid Indian motorcycle licence, or a foreign motorcycle licence plus an International Driving Permit, and travel insurance that covers you as a rider. You should be comfortable on an adventure bike of about 400 to 450cc, including gravel, loose stones and water crossings, since several stretches of the Manali to Leh road aren't fully sealed. This isn't a trip to learn to ride on. If that's not you yet, ride pillion and you'll see the same route. Tell us which option you want when you book, since it decides which bike and rider-guide we assign you.

Yes, for Nubra and Pangong. It's a Protected Area Permit, issued to foreigners through a registered travel agent in Leh, usually to groups of two or more. We arrange and pay for it as part of the trip. Your Indian e-Visa alone isn't valid in these areas, and Pangong is open to foreigners only as far as Spangmik, Man and Merak. Permit rules can change, which is why the Trip Host confirms the Day 8 route before we set off.

Solo travellers aged 18 to 40. Most people come on their own, and some come with a friend. The maximum for each departure is shown with its dates, split between self-riders, pillion riders and their rider-guides, plus the support van.

The Trip Host rides with the group for all 11 days, manages the permit, coordinates the mechanic and support van, and watches for signs of altitude sickness across the group. Our local rider-guides carry pillion travellers and know the roads.

It starts in Manali on Day 1 and ends in Leh after breakfast on Day 11. Manali is about 570 km from Delhi, roughly 12 to 14 hours by road, or you can fly into Kullu-Manali airport where flights run. From Leh, flights back to Delhi take about an hour and a half.

Yes. Most nationalities need a visa for India, and most can apply for an e-Visa online on the official site, indianvisaonline.gov.in. You also have to file India's free online arrival and health forms before you fly. Rules change, so read our India visa guide for your passport before you book flights.

The Manali to Leh highway usually opens in early summer and closes in late October or November. In 2026 it opened to tourist traffic on 1 June, and in 2025 it closed on 20 November. Early or late snow at Baralacha La can shut it for days at either end of the season, and the June departure carries the most risk of snow on the passes. June to September is also when Leh's weather is most manageable.

A hotel in Manali, a guesthouse in Jispa, hotels in Leh, a fixed camp in the Nubra Valley and a fixed camp at Pangong Lake. You share a twin room or tent with a traveller of the same gender. Twenty-five meals are included, which covers most meals on the trip. Budget a little extra for snacks and drinks in Leh's cafes, and take out enough cash in Leh for the rest of the trip, since ATMs are unreliable once you leave town.

A helmet, riding jacket, gloves and boots if you have them (or rent them locally), warm layers for every day since nights at Pangong are cold even in summer, a buff or scarf for dust, good sunscreen and sunglasses, and a reusable water bottle. Postpaid Indian SIMs work in Ladakh. Prepaid SIMs from elsewhere in India don't, and international roaming eSIMs are reported not to work either. You can buy a local prepaid SIM in Leh with your passport, and signal is patchy around Pangong.

Yes, it's a condition of joining. It must cover motorcycling and specifically the altitudes this trip reaches, since standard policies often exclude one or both. You buy and pay for this yourself, we don't include it, so check the wording before you book.

We build in two full rest days in Leh before Day 6, when we cross Khardung La for the first time. The biggest single climb comes earlier, on Day 3, when we cross passes above 5,000 m before sleeping in Leh at 3,500 m. The Trip Host watches for headache, nausea, breathlessness and poor sleep, which are the early signs, and the plan is to rest or descend if anyone's symptoms don't settle. Talk to your doctor before you travel about whether altitude medicine such as Diamox is right for you, and check with a travel health clinic at least six weeks before you go. The NHS fitfortravel site and the US CDC keep up-to-date advice for India.