UK to India and back (help)
 

I seem to be chasing my tail about when we should leave for this trip ?
Planning to do it in 6 months, probably 2 months to get there, 2 months there and then 2 months back.
We have looked at countless sites to try and find the best time to leave but can't make our mind up, our problem is eastern Turkey onwards as we have no experience from there on. Does anybody have any local knowledge that will help ?
Many Thanx
Pete & Caf

The time of departure is much discussed on these pages - generally late summer, early autumn. On your sort of trip that would work well. March is still cold in Turkey and Iran for the return. Late March should be okay with warm gear. Just about. This would put you a bit over your six months however.

Eight would be perfect, leaving early September, coming back in April-ish through Turkey. Any deviation from this at either end, will mean proper cold riding.

The BBC site has lots of helpful charts etc
BBC - Weather Centre - World Weather - Average Conditions - Ankara

Remember that the India section is the cheapest, so if it is a question of budget, then a small extension like this would not hurt much. You can live for next to nothing in India. And it is a big place. :)

Most people do each leg in less than two months. You might want to look at this part of your plan again - particularly the return, as few people choose to dawdle when homeward bound.

Good luck,

Simon

Try to avoid eastern turkey and North Iran in teh winter. It does really get cold, expect to be riding on ice and hard packed snow if on used roads, deep snow if not and I think you would be foolish to ride on tracks and little used routes. You might want to consider having electrically heated gloves and vest, ( test the electics to be able to supply the power) but always it is teh extremities that really suffer in the cold.

The chilliest part will no doubt be eastern Turkey (Erzurum-Dogubayazit-Bazargan border), as the whole area is mountain plateau, +1000 meters above sea level, and roads often go even higher than that. It is not for bikes, when it gets snowed in.

We went through at the end of October last year. Wouldnt have left it any later than that. After Turkey, it got much warmer after getting away from the mountains in Iran. Later I saw some newsflash about big snowstorms in Teheran, but that must´ve been in December or January.

What's your route? I'm in India and plan on being here for a while (thinking about re-producing vintage Ducati and British tanks here). But when I leave, I'm not sure how to get to Europe. Many possibilities but no plans. Hopefully things will lighten up after the US elections.

If you leave in Spring and arrive in India in about June it will be very hot, but it's the only time you can visit Ladakh and Zanskar. Spend the summer/monsoon there (it will be mostly dry there), then ride back after the monsoon.

Just an idea.