Hello fellas,

I'm planning my next trip. I have postponed India many times to do others trips. As time was passing I never forgot abut India, and this summer seems the perfect time. Me and my partner have got time off from June-Sep, 4 months in total... India there we go!.

I had few others trips in mind but the idea of riding and Enfield in India won the battle... (and the Indian food )

I started to do the planning (great thing to do ) and the first thing I researched is the weather and ... crap! . When summer in Europe= Raining season in India. I knew that, but the amount of rain in South during these months is amazing! apparently non stop.

But North India is not that bad. It will rain but no as bad as the south, and the temperature is just perfect. I was looking to a few maps and there are a lot of very attractive routes.

Anybody travelled north India during summer?, What routes did you take?. I am very interested in anything you know about India.

We like to travel very slowly, but 4 months just for north India... is too much?.

Any tips about Royal Enfield are welcome. Where is a good place to get one?. Buy or Rent?. We'll arrive in Delhi.

And that's It. Looking forward to heard from you!

Cheers

Come on guys!!!

You did It! I know some of you did It... share your experiences.

I'll do It anyway

Maybe is better to known... nothing!, adventure is that, isn't it? Go and look for the unknown

I'll do It!... yes I do

(should not post after a few s)

North India is massive. Where do you mean by north India? North India has many different climates itself; e.g. Bengal, Orissa, the North-eastern states will be very humid around that time, the Indian planes absolutely bake in the extreme sun, from UP all the way to Gujarat and down to Maharasta, but in the Himalaya you will find quite nice weather in July, August and September. Again this varies between Kashmir, Nepal Manali, and Leh, because they are all at different altitudes, with the latter (Ladahk) receiving hardly any rainfall at all.

Indian Summers are extremely hot. During the months you'll be visiting, expect 40+ Celsius day in day, and this will be a very dry sort of heat. I've travelled extensively during in Indian summers and can tell you it makes an intense country all the more intense. I found it essential to wake up before 6AM and start my day then, because by 10 or 11am, it is already too hot! On the plus side, few other tourists brave the heat so you get places mostly to yourself and room rates are all the more negotiable.

Royal Enfields are fabulous to ride, tough machines, but can be rather unreliable and uneconomical compared to the Pulsars, Baja's, etc. You didn't say what your budget is; but I'd be tempted to buy/rent something that is brand new. Avoid the older Enfields unless you really know what your doing. Get a 500 if you want overtaking power on the highways 2-up, but generally they don't like to be pushed over 50/60mph... The newer ones have electronic timing and maybe even fuel injection now (not sure though!), with lower vibration engines shaking everything loose, of course Enfield purists/enthusiasts will tell you old is gold, but for touring reliability is essential.

You can rent or buy in Delhi, and places like Manali, Goa, are good to buy from foreigners, especially towards the end of the season. There is tones of information at indiamike.com -- I suggest you do some homework!

Good luck,

R.T.W.

Hi,

Thanks for your response, finally someone answer my post

I did my homework and research. That is why I know during summer months in Europe... it rains a lot in India, especially in the South. I hate ride the bike when is raining...

I would like to know those travellers who did travel during these months in the North region and what route did they take. When I say North region I mean from Delhi, especially the Himalayas. I do not expect 40C there. I read some reports about that and you can find snow in some regions of the Himalayas during summer.

I will keep checking and doing more homework but is always fun and very helpful to heard from people who did it before.


We have 4 months, and the idea (undecided yet) is to travel from Delhi to the north. We are starting to planning the route.

Thanks for help us to planning the route and the good information about bikes.

Cheers

From Delhi i think the route you'd want to take is called the 'Manali-Leh' route.

Searching for this online should being back a wealth of information

You could do a loop from Delhi, similar perhaps to the following example.

Start in Delhi, then head to Rishikesh, from Rishikesh, head to Shimla, and from there you can access Spiti Valley, a rough seven or eight days motorbiking through one of the remotest regions in the world. If you survive that and the bike is still in once piece, you should arrive in Manali for repairs, and some relaxation. Once you are ready to go, it is then a 4-5 day journey to Leh. Again this is also very remote but you can count on passing jeeps and trucks to assist you, should you break down. It is wise to plan these trips well, and be prepared for freezing night time temperatures on the passes.

Once you arrive at Leh, use Leh as a base to explore Ladakh. You could easily spend 3-4 weeks in Ladakh, using your bike to get out to visit places like the Nubra Valley, etc. From Leh you can head east; it takes 2-3 days to arrive in Srinagar, if you feel you have still not had enough of remote mountain landscapes, extremely poor roads, etc, think about doing Zanskar, a 5-7 day return trip through the Zanskar range, it is a stunning, remote, beautiful, and very testing journey. People are put off, because you must return the same way you get there; and the 'road' is appalling. One of the biggest draws to go there is that nobody else does.

You access it from a town called Kargil, which is near enough bang in the middle between Srinagar and Leh. Once you arrive in Kashmir, take it easy and enjoy the beautiful scenery. You could easily spend a very relaxed two weeks in Kashmir, check the political situation, respect that fact that Muslims have different ideas about dress code, etc, and you'll find it a hospitable place as anywhere else in India. The only problem with Kashmir is getting out, I did the road a few years ago and you'll be battling with a lot of drunken truck drivers, dozens of military trucks storming past you, and everything in-between.

Some areas are not that friendly to outsiders and things can get out of control quickly because tensions run high along the boarders. You should plan your route well, leave early, and head to a place called Pathenkot*, or something like that, from there it is an easy days ride to Dharamasala, if you still have time left, I'd suggest you go to Delhi via The Punjab, visiting Amirista, break the journey at Chandighar, or even take a detour to Rajasthan, and arrive back at Delhi with enough time to sell/return the bike and spend a few days in Delhi to relax, and visit its many attractions.

Good luck

* there is a bypass road that keeps to the hills. You might want to check this; when I did it, it was said to be in very poor condition and washed out, but maybe they paved it now.

Kashmir & Ladakh are just spectacular. We spent a month up there (sept-oct) and could have easily stayed longer. Snow can definitely make an appearance fairly early, you will have to watch the weather closely starting September. The roads do close. You can do a big loop up to Srinagar, over to Leh & down to Manali. There are spectacular roads out of Leh, high passes & very remote places. Prepare well for the altitude. Back down towards Delhi you can probably stay coolish in rishikesh & Mcleodganj...

Wow you are one lucky guy to get to spend 4 months there. I have done it two times and rented a Enfield from Anu in Manali. He has newer bikes and uses only real parts and takes very good care of his bikes. I have done it from Manali and that is good place to start from to avoid the crush of Delhi and the heat of the south. He will pick you up from the airport south of Manali at Kullu. The route I have taken south of Manali to Shimlia and East to Reckong Peo up to Nako and over to Kaza through the Spiti Valley and then on to Keylong and North to Leh will give you some of the finest riding on this earth. They are building a new Dam in this area and once it is done this valley will be flooded and gone forever. It is high country so not a lot of people for sure. Very cheap and the temp in the summer will not be bad in Aug. It did not rain on me either trip except for one day on the Rohtang pass which is something else when it rains about 5 inches. This is Anu web site but I can not tell you enough times what a awesome trip it was. We rode for a month 2 up and will never forget it and I have ridden over 45 countries in the world.

__________________
Larry Davis

I thought that I had included this web address as it has a lot of great routes and reading to help you. Enjoy
Royal Moto Touring - Contact

__________________
Larry Davis

Godammit, now I have one more thing in the "Things to do before I die" list......

Very tempting indeed. Thanks for a brilliant description of this part of the world!

__________________
In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

Motivational reading (?) at Indian Himalayas TBSdotCom

Also the Search function at the top of this page.

__________________

Brighty's website: TheBrightStuffDotCom

CURRENT RR WITH REGULAR UPDATES: The Wife Takes on Chlamydia: A South American Retrospective

Great information!
I will post my trip here.

Thanks mate!

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/previe...!1e1!2b1&fid=0



This is +/- the route . It's only a draft and It will change. Just to give you an idea. What do you think?

Martin

PS. I tried to be more specific but the new google maps sucks

Hi Martin,

That looks great! You'll have to pack for two different climates (assuming you're going in the summer), as it will be scorching hot in Gujarat and Rajasthan, but warm/cool in Ladakh, and pleasant in the lower regions of the Himalayas (Kashmir valley, Himachal, etc). Kutch is an amazing region and lends itself to adv riding, fairly quiet but good paved roads. You still find a lot of tribal cultures, in fact Kutch is well known for it. The region is going through rapid change, so maybe it's not the place I remember it.

There is a great monastery called Than, if my memory serves me correctly, this could be a good place if you fancy staying somewhere a bit different. Other than that, some highlights along the way might be Mount Abu, Udaipur, and it is probably worth detouring out to the far-west of Rasjathan, if you have the time. Again, time permitting, Diu in Gujarat is a real highlight, and a wonderful place to relax, as well as being something of an oddity, given that it was once a Portugese colony, right up until the 1970's, so the locals speak Portuguese and go to church on a Sunday for Mass

Have you ridden in India before? It's certainly an experience one does not forget easily. In India, the roads are used for just about anything, and by just about anything. Sometimes farmers use it to dry crops, nobody has right of way though it usually relates to mass - highest first, and traffic moves anywhere from school children walking at the side of the road, meandering cows, all the way to reckless HGV's overtaking a bus at 70mph, honking like crazy and scattering oncoming traffic.

Be prepared to get forced off the road several times a day, so always keep an eye out on the conditions along the left-lane, because when that oncoming TATA truck driver overtakes another truck, it won't be him hitting the dirt at 60mph, or worse, a herd of goats, child, etc, etc. I found its best to just cruise along at 40mph, but certainly no more than 60mph. If you do have an accident, consider that many people recommend leaving the scene as fast as possible and reporting it to the police later, because often accident scenes can turn violent, especially if the mob perceive some injustice. I guess you just have to use your gut feeling in these situations...

Someone told me a driver side-swipped him at a junction, it was in no way his fault, but when the police turned up, he got the blame, and upon demanding an explanation why, the policeman simply said 'well sir, it was your fault because it was you who came to India'!!! As a foreigner, you get cut a lot of slack in India, but it can sometimes pull the other way, so be mindful of this. Other than that, drive safe and you'll have a trip of a lifetime, experiencing a multitude of cultures, ages, landscapes, languages, cuisines, etc. India is a fantastic place to travel and I couldn't think of a better bike to do it with than a Royal Enfield!!!

Since i am INDIAN, i will be knowing good
as u said u r coming from JUNE to SEPTEMBER
india has a climate
November to March- Winter
April-may - spring
June-jule- summer
august-oct-rainy
But in north india you may not seem to have much winter.. and you can go with a Enfield and can tour the Himalayas, I am also a north india living in shimla (famous Hill station) and my friends Enfield is free nowadays, you can keep that. i wont charge you anythng, since i will be also visiting leh ladakh and other hilly places and we can travel along if you are comfortable.
mail me @ amitbhp@gmail.com
since i m not a frequent horizon member.

Wish you luck horizon member