Day 1
| Where the hell is Siliguri?
We’ll fly into Siliguri via Delhi or Mumbai. If it’s your first time in India, we suggest a stopover in Delhi – and maybe a side trip to Agra and the Taj Mahal. November in Siliguri is lovely: the city greets us with warm autumn air. It’s a town of half a million people, the second largest in West Bengal. Temperatures range from 23 to 28°C, and the town sits just 126 metres above sea level. Darkness falls fast. Our advice: get to know the local cuisine gradually. This region is seriously spicy.
Day 2
| Darjeeling Express
Have you seen “The Darjeeling Limited”? No? Today you’ll get the real thing, up close. We have 80 km to cover and it will take us almost 10 hours. We’re riding the Toy Train – or, if you prefer grand names, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. It won’t be an easy day, though – especially for the locomotive, which has to haul us from 120 metres up to 2,200 metres. The railway is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has been running non-stop since the 19th century, and we guarantee it will be one of the highlights of the trip.
Day 3
| Tea country
Darjeeling means tea – and top-shelf tea at that. The cool, humid climate, frequent mists and big swings between day and night temperatures are what give Darjeeling tea its unique character. Meanwhile, we get on the bikes and leave the little town behind, heading for Gangtok. The road winds through tea gardens and over cloud-wrapped passes. We gradually climb to about 2,060 metres, then drop down to 1,635 metres. A cool breeze keeps temperatures at 13–22°C. Perfect riding weather. It won’t rain. We promise.
Day 4
| Gangtok – the capital of Sikkim
Gangtok greets us in the morning with views of the Eastern Himalayas. We ride north along river valleys towards Lachung. The road keeps climbing until we reach 2,658 m above sea level. The air turns crisp and temperatures hover around 11–16°C. Clouds drift low over the mountains – but no rain.
Day 5
| Zero Point
Lachung is our base for a loop up to Zero Point. The bikes climb steep hairpins towards a high pass. Zero Point lies at 4,818 m, where the temperature hovers around 0°C. We come back the same way, descending the mountain slopes to Lachung. Zero Point is the popular name for a high-altitude viewpoint also known as Yumesamdong. It sits at the very end of the road up the Lachung valley, close to the border with Tibet.
Day 6
| Towards warmer climes
We leave Lachung and head south towards Dzongu. The road takes us down through pine forests and river valleys to 1,530 metres, where temperatures rise to 15–21°C. Dzongu welcomes us with the calm of small villages and wide-open fields. It’s a place where life moves slowly, far from the bustle of the popular tourist trails.
Day 7
| Back to the capital
Morning in Dzongu brings gentle hills and the peace of a mountain village. We ride east, back to Gangtok, through the broad Teesta river valley. The road climbs gradually, but this time the ascent is easy. We finish the day at 1,635 metres. In the evening the temperature drops to around 12°C.
Day 8
| Towards Bhutan
We leave Gangtok and head for the border town of Jaigaon. A twisting road takes us lower and lower, out of the mountains and onto the vast plains. We drop to a mere 206 metres above sea level and the temperature climbs to 25°C. Jaigaon sits right on the India–Bhutan border. On the other side lies Bhutan’s Phuentsholing – the gateway to one of the most mysterious kingdoms of the Himalayas.
Day 9
| Winding Bhutanese roads
Jaigaon opens the way to Bhutan. We cross the border and ride towards Paro, climbing deep into a Himalayan valley at 2,266 metres. Along the way we take in distant peaks, and the crisp mountain air is a relief after the heat of the Indian plains. Paro greets us with cooler weather – 12 to 20°C. We’re back in the Himalayas, this time in a kingdom that stayed cut off from the rest of the world for years and has kept its remarkable character to this day.
Day 10
| Flying tigers
Today we stay in Paro to visit one of Bhutan’s most famous monasteries – Taktsang, known as the Tiger’s Nest. We set off on foot along a mountain trail leading to a monastery glued to a sheer cliff face at about 3,000 metres above sea level. The climb is steep and takes some effort, but the views over the Paro valley and the surrounding Himalayas are worth every step. Legend has it that this is where Guru Rinpoche arrived on the back of a tigress to meditate and spread Buddhism in Bhutan. After the descent we return to town for a quiet evening and a well-earned rest after the hike.
Day 11
| A capital like no other
We leave Paro and ride east to Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan. We follow the main national highway as it winds through gentle, forested hills. Thimphu lies at 2,326 metres, with temperatures of 10–18°C. The capital welcomes us with clean streets, laid-back markets and an atmosphere that feels more like a large mountain town than a buzzing metropolis. It’s a great place to get a closer look at the everyday life of the Bhutanese, still deeply rooted in tradition and Buddhist culture.
Day 12
| Indian hustle and bustle
We leave Thimphu and head south, back to Jaigaon. We descend from Himalayan heights through forested valleys, crossing one mountain river after another. With every kilometre the air gets warmer. By the time we reach the Indian border it’s already 28°C. After a day on the road, Jaigaon greets us with noisy streets, traffic and the energy of a border town. We’re back on the Indian side of the Himalayas.
Day 13
| The Chicken's Neck
From Jaigaon we set off on the last leg of our journey, back to Siliguri. Bangladesh is just around the corner as we ride through the so-called Chicken’s Neck – the narrowest point of India. The temperature climbs to 29°C as we approach the city. Siliguri welcomes us with the same warm November air that saw us off at the start. We’ve come full circle – behind us are the mountain roads of Sikkim, the tea hills of Darjeeling and the Himalayan valleys of Bhutan. This is the end of the road, but the memories of this trip will stay with us for a long time.
Day 14
| The end of the Himalayan loop
Siliguri marks the end of our expedition. We pack up the bikes and get ready to head home. It’s another warm day, with temperatures reaching 29°C. All that’s left are the final formalities and the journey back. We leave behind Sikkim, the tea hills of Darjeeling and the mountain valleys of Bhutan – places that will stay in our memory for a long time.
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