Thunder Dragon Adventure

Highlights

• The unspoilt forests, valleys and mountains.
• Abundant wildlife including rare Himalayan species
• Takstang hermitage
• Drukyel Dzong
• Local culture – the Bhutanese have kept their identity over the centuries.

Itinerary

DAY 1 DEPART UK. Board your flight to Delhi.

DAY 2 ARRIVE DELHI. We will greet you personally upon your arrival and drive you to our city centre hotel in an A/C minibus. Relax and refresh in luxury after your long international flight. Welcome dinner party tonight in the hotel. Singh Sons Hotel.

DAY 3 DELHI - KALIMPONG. Rising early we catch the morning flight to Bagdogra, West Bengal, and then on to our hotel in Kalimpong. After lunch we'll meet the tour crew waiting with the motorcycles and have a briefing to cover safety precautions, touring style, road conditions, and check personal equipment, with time to select our bikes and become familiar with starting procedures, control layouts and bike handling. We'll discuss our tour route and give you map/info packets at dinner together tonight. Himalayan Hotel.

DAY 4 KALIMPONG - PELLING (235 km). Our first day’s ride is up the Teesta river gorge from the plains of West Bengal to the hills and river valleys of the ancient Buddhist kingdom of Sikkim. We cross into Sikkim with special permits, and ride from east to west Sikkim on small well-paved lanes through lush forests and tea plantations, on to the far west of the kingdom, a place called Pelling and our mountain guest house. Just east of the Nepal border, Pelling is about as close as you can get to the third highest mountain on Earth, Kanchenjunga. We have the chance to see the huge massif of the mountain above us from the hotel rooftop where a high tech telescope is mounted for our use. Usually clear only for a few hours in the early mornings...if we're lucky. Newa Regency Hotel. 

DAY 5 PELLING– DARJEELING (250 km). After a sunrise viewing of Kanchenjunga, we head back down the mountain to the "Queen of the hill stations" Darjeeling. A famous trading post and hill station retreat of the British Raj, made all the more famous for the many tea plantations on its flanks, and most importantly the mighty views of the Himalaya and especially Kanchenjunga to the northwest. We stay in the centre of the busiest market right to the top of the ridge where there are views of the Himalaya from our hotel windows again. A night on the town of old Darjeeling in one of their night dinner clubs with live music on the summit of the ridge mall. Himalayan Resort.

DAY 6 DARJEELING – PHUNTSHOLING (320 km). We ride down from Darjeeling through tea plantations on an incredibly steep blacktop lane through villages balanced on sides of hills. We descend to the Teesta River again and across the plains of West Bengal. Resembling southeast Asia more than northern India, this area has herds of wild elephant and leopards. As a contrast to the vast mountain regions we have ridden through, it complements the varied landscape covered on this tour. Overnight on the border town of India and Bhutan, Arriving in Phuntsholing, we start the visa formalities to cross the border in the morning and start our ride through the Thunder Dragon kingdom. Lhaki Hotel. 

DAY 7 PHUNTSHOLING - THIMPHU (298 km).  After breakfast we start early, allowing ample time to view the mountain scenery and distant waterfalls as we climb our first pass, Chapch-La. Descending to the beautiful Wangshu River Valley through dense forest, we meet the confluence of the Paro River, where we cross the bridge and head up the secluded river valley road perched high above on the side of the cliff. We continue northwest for another 75 km where we overnight in the capital city of Bhutan Thimphu. Riverside Hotel.

DAY 8 THIMPHU - WANGDI (130 km). After exploring the capital city and a tour of Jigme Dorji Wangchuk Memorial Chorten with our Bhutanese guide this morning, we have lunch in one of the local Bhutanese restaurants before climbing out of Thimphu to the Dochu La pass at 3100 m . There are prayer flags everywhere on the summit and views of the magnificent Himalaya  panorama and the giant peaks of Lunana. The road then descends over 1700 m in 26 km as we pass first temperate forest, then semi-tropical with orange, banana and bamboo.  We arrive at the busy town of Wangdi, perched on a spur at the confluence of the rivers, with a mighty Dzong fortress built on the rocks above town, and our cozy guest house in the centre of the market. Dragon’s Nest Hotel.

DAY 9 WANGDI - BUMTHANG VALLEY (300 km). After a hearty breakfast we continue our way east across the length of Bhutan on the only road across the kingdom. The road flattens for 12 km then begins the climb over Black Mountain and our next pass, Pele-La at 3300 m, where we'll see yaks grazing and views of the Chomolhari Range in Western Bhutan. Another 1500 m descent takes us to Nikka Shu bridge through forest and dwarf bamboo. The road is carved out of the side of the cliff above the Mangde Chu River and there is forest for as far as the eye can see, with the famous Trongsa Dzong visible 12 km away. We ride to our lunch and a quick visit to Trongsa Dzong, the largest in the country, before heading over the last smaller pass to Jakar, our destination in the beautiful Bumthang Valley. Enjoying the hospitality of our famous guest househotel, we settle into a country home dinner and the blazing wood stoves. Swiss Guesthouse.

DAY 10 BUMTHANG – MONGAR (310 km). The longest day’s ride of the tour, and one of the most spectacular, as we "ride the high ridges" from Bumthang Valley to Mongar. Where most visitors to Bhutan rarely even make it as far as Bumthang Valley, we intrepid explorers thump on past over the high passes to the very centre of the kingdom. Vast forests for as far as the eye can see in every direction, mixed with extraordinary views of the high Himalayan snow-capped peaks, reward us for our ride through Shangri-La. Our cozy guest house is in the centre of town. Drukyel Guesthouse 

DAY 11 MONGAR - TASHIGANG (80 km). We have the morning to explore Mongar and surrounds before heading the relatively short distance to Tashigang through dense forest with howling Grey Langur monkeys to the jewel of eastern Bhutan, Tashigang. This is as far east as we will be able to travel in Bhutan at this time, after Tashigang the roads become less maintained and grown over, the people are tribal and all becomes wilder. Most traffic is by horse and on trails. Tashigang has a new National University where many students from all over Bhutan study. We stay in a Bhutanese style guest house at the very top of town with views over the valleys below. Kelling Lodge.

DAY 12 TASHIGANG - SUMDRUK (190 km). Our last days ride in Bhutan takes us back down through the many climate zones, reflected in the dramatic changes in flora & fauna, becoming again almost sub-tropical. The border town of Sumdruk is clean and ordered, busy as all border towns can be, but quiet. A contrast between Indian and Bhutanese cultures, the mix of this border is unique. Our hotel is small and clean in the middle of town. 

DAY 13  SUMDRUK - GUHWATI (200 km). After checking out of Bhutan and back into India our ride takes us through densely populated villages on flat steamy plains with bamboo groves. You’ll notice the relatively busy traffic of India compared to the lack of any traffic in Bhutan as we head for the capital of Assam, Guhwati. The mighty Brahmaputra River runs through Guhwati - from the high plateau of Tibet it crashes down to Bangaladesh and out into the sea at Calcutta. Our journey is almost over, we check into our 4* hotel before our farewell dinner party with our India & Bhutanese crew. Rajmahal Hotel.

DAY 14 GUHWATI - DELHI. After breakfast we prepare for our flight to Delhi, arriving early afternoon to the comfort of our Delhi hotel and our farewell dinner party. Singh Sons Hotel.

DAY 15 DEPART DELHI, ARRIVE UK. After breakfast this morning our tour ends, transfer to Gandhi International Airport is in an A/C minibus. Most flights arrive in the UK the same day

Total distance   c. 2100 km

Ready to book? Please click here

Price includes: 10 days Royal Enfield 500 Bullet; oil and maintenance/spares; jeep support vehicle, trailer and spares; tour guide with medical kit/training; Enfield mechanic and local guides; airport transfers; any border procedures; entrance fees to monuments / parks / reserves; 13 nts hotel accommodation; all meals; soft drinks/bottled mineral water on tour; Bhutan tourism tax; road maps/information packet; biker’s rucsac.

Price excludes: Motorcycle security/damage deposit £300/$500, to pay locally; Indian multiple entry visa (c. £35); fuel; alcoholic beverages; laundry service; tips; ‘motorcycle adventure’ travel insurance, available from H-C Travel.

Flights

Our prices include scheduled economy flights from London to Delhi, with airport / hotel transfers. Flight inclusive prices are subject to availability, and may increase subject to airline conditions and fuel surcharges, so please book early!

We can also offer flights from UK regional airports, please contact us for further details. And if you prefer to fly with a different airline, we can arrange that too.

Any questions? Please click here

Prices

Thunder Dragon Adventure Dates Rider Passenger Sgl rm suppl. 07 Oct - 21 Oct 2008 £3,345.00 £3,095.00 £425.00 23 Apr - 07 May 2009 £3,445.00 £3,195.00 £445.00 06 Oct - 20 Oct 2009 £3,445.00 £3,195.00 £445.00 17 Apr - 01 May 2010 £3,555.00 £3,295.00 £475.00 05 Oct - 19 Oct 2010 £3,555.00 £3,295.00 £475.00 Without flights, deduct -£500.00 -£500.00 £0.00

Extension Tours (can be arranged through H-C Travel either before or after our Thunder Dragon Adventure):

Taj Mahal 2 days, incl. 1 nt in 5* hotel in Agra, private car/driver/guide, entrance fees to Taj Mahal, Red Fort and Fatapur Sikri, £245/person twinshare.

Indian wildlife reserve tours can also be arranged.