There are often occasions when we manage to club a day or two alongwith the weekend which can give us a window of riding out of Delhi to find biking freedom. I am trying to create this for people who can talk about such possibilities with their knowledge and experience.

Here we are looking for destinations which are more than just Jaipur and Agra which ofcourse exist... but we are looking at slightly offbeat places. Off the beaten track.

1.One such destination would be Chakrata as seen and neatly elaborated here by our Aryan in his thread here: http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/6...ikers-way.html

2.If you are looking to ride fast straights and curves on the Aravalis and get some Royalty to visit, you can have a look here: http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/6...arh-mahal.html
It is true that I did that tour on a Sbk, but you really do not need a Sbk to do such a tour. You can easily do it with any bike really. This will not take you more than 3 days as you will get from the narration above. You can get rooms from 4K/Night/room upwards if you are looking at the amount you are going to spend. Every moment spent in this place is quite interesting. Do not forget to pack your swimsuits.

3.Another possibility would be to head towards Himachal:
Day1: Delhi-Manali
Day2: Manali-Rohtang-Gramphu-Chandratal, photographs and back.
Day3: Chill, maybe Nagar etc.
Day4: Manali-Delhi.

My take, do not stay at Manali. I always say this. But it is worth it. Stay at Vashist, 5kms away from the Lajpat Nagar type hustle and bustle of Manali and its teeming tourists.

ust remember that Gramphu-Chandratal is NOT easy. But I am sure, with your enthusiasm it will be fine. Just preparing you mentally. Once you reach Chandratal, you will realise that you should be carrying an extra battery set and 4 more GB of space!!!

And if you plan to stay put at Vashist, there is a lovely Water Fall. It is called Jogini Falls. There is one lower and easy access. That is not the "Real" fall. That is the touristy one. For the real Jogini Falls, one has to make an effort to get up there. Takes a good hour of walking. But then again... every metre walked is worth its weight in salt in sweat and tears!

4.For those willing to exploit the desert and the dunes can have a look here http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/6...une-quest.html Now this took 4 days through some great rocky terrain, lot of nice landscapes of arid vegetation of acacia, some dunes and some more if you go to Sam Dunes, 40kms beyond Jaisalmer or to Khuri Village... and then maybe do a camel ride and let your bike take a well deserved rest.

5. Have a look here as well: http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/190321-post17.html

6. Have a look here as well: http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/8...tiated-no.html

7. Another one added here: http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/9...-beats-r1.html

8. Yet one more: http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/291679-post79.html This is however not for first timer bikers looking to go to the hills.

9. Delhi - Rewalsar Lake: http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/334546-post82.html

10. One more added in Dec 2009: http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/337991-post84.html

11. One done by Shamik here: http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/1...ts-kumaon.html


I will put this post up to begin with and I hope others will add on...


Edit; putting in an edit here, there might be several of these edits as time goes by and I will put in the links in the first post itself which will help people locate the destinations more easily.

Hi All,

I am planning a trip to Shimla from Delhi, just wanted to know about traffic and road conditions from Kalka to Shimla. How much traffic can I expect, would roads be clear enough to enjoy the ride?

Thanks..

Hi guys, i'm planning to do Chakrata and night camping at Kanasar.

Please let me know the road condition for the following route:
Delhi - Pipli - Yamunagar - Paonta Shahib - Chakrata

Hello Everyone,

I'm a bike lover, and love to ride. Though I ride aroung 65 Kms in the city five days a week (Home-Work-Home). But I've never been lucky enough to go touring on my bike.
Lately I've been planning on a trip on my Pulsar 220. The dream is to get Leh'd but for the beginning I'm attempting a short trip to Manali and Rohtang Pass from Delhi (due to unavailability of leaves).

Need your suggestions on route, what stuff to take, how to prepare? Will it be fine if I do it solo?

This will be my first trip on bike, so seeking all the help I can get from my Respected Senior and Very Senior bikers.

If anybody is interested in accompanying me, I would be delighted.

Riding Skills : 9 out of 10 (No Stunting )
Touring Skills : No Experience.


My Tour Plan :

Friday 7th June : Start from Noida after 5:00 PM

Stay somewhere in between (Need suggestion on this too, where should I take a halt)

Saturday 8th June : Early Morning, Continuing journey towards Manali.

Sunday : Visit to Rohtang Pass.

Sunday Eve or Monday Morning : Start from Manali, back to Delhi.


Your suggestions and advice are appreciated.


Thanks to all.

Khan

Route: Delhi - Ambala - Take the road to Ludhiana/Amritsar. Just before toll (it comes after crossing a bridge) on your right take the road to Kharar. Its an awesome road through the country side. - Ropar - Take the flyover which turns towards right at Kiratpur Sahib - Bilaspur - Mandi - Kullu - Manali.

Stuff to take: Puncture repair kit and a foot pump (bigbazar - 500 bucks) Clutch and Accel cable (better to keep it), ID Card photocopy (you never know when its required), Camera plus other essentials.

Solo is fine as long as you don't get bored and are a safe and steady rider. Take the initial hill roads easy and be specially careful when going downhill (thumb rule - the gear used for climbing up should be the gear used for descending)


Friday: Stay put at Ambala. Exiting delhi at 5 means that you will reach Ambala at around 10 (friday evening mad rush at delhi border).
Beyond that Ropar - Kiratpur Sahib will be too much of night driving for the night.

Saturday: Start by 5 am atleast so as to make it to Manali before 5 pm. There is some talk of permits being required for bikers too this year. Keep following the bcmtouring leh-manali road update thread for that.

Sunday: Start as early as possible to beat the rush (yes there will be insane traffic)

Evening - Ride down to Mandi. Stay there.

Monday: Mandi to Delhi -- 11 or 12 hours. Heat can be a huge problem so keep yourself frequently hydrated. Also, try to start early to beat the heat for sometime. If it gets unbearable, cool off at some petrol pump/restaurant. Oh yes. pray for the rains :-)

Sabse Important Note: Ride safe and wear all the gear possible. Basic riding gloves start at Rs 250 (probiker) and basic axo knee and elbow guards start at Rs 500. Very small price to pay for safety which is of paramount importance.
@TheMonk: Should this be moved to 3-4 days getaway thread ?

Route: Delhi - Ambala - Take the road to Ludhiana/Amritsar. Just before toll (it comes after crossing a bridge) on your right take the road to Kharar. Its an awesome road through the country side. - Ropar - Take the flyover which turns towards right at Kiratpur Sahib - Bilaspur - Mandi - Kullu - Manali.

Stuff to take: Puncture repair kit and a foot pump (bigbazar - 500 bucks) Clutch and Accel cable (better to keep it), ID Card photocopy (you never know when its required), Camera plus other essentials.

Solo is fine as long as you don't get bored and are a safe and steady rider. Take the initial hill roads easy and be specially careful when going downhill (thumb rule - the gear used for climbing up should be the gear used for descending)


Friday: Stay put at Ambala. Exiting delhi at 5 means that you will reach Ambala at around 10 (friday evening mad rush at delhi border).
Beyond that Ropar - Kiratpur Sahib will be too much of night driving for the night.

Saturday: Start by 5 am atleast so as to make it to Manali before 5 pm. There is some talk of permits being required for bikers too this year. Keep following the bcmtouring leh-manali road update thread for that.

Sunday: Start as early as possible to beat the rush (yes there will be insane traffic)


Evening - Ride down to Mandi. Stay there.

Monday: Mandi to Delhi -- 11 or 12 hours. Heat can be a huge problem so keep yourself frequently hydrated. Also, try to start early to beat the heat for sometime. If it gets unbearable, cool off at some petrol pump/restaurant. Oh yes. pray for the rains :-)

Sabse Important Note: Ride safe and wear all the gear possible. Basic riding gloves start at Rs 250 (probiker) and basic axo knee and elbow guards start at Rs 500. Very small price to pay for safety which is of paramount importance.
@TheMonk: Should this be moved to 3-4 days getaway thread ?

Hi,

Your reply was really informative. A heartily thanks to it.
My plan is flexible around Saturday and Sunday, so as you said I would have to face hell of the traffic jams if I leave on Fri eve.
Should I be doing it at some other time, any suggestions about that.

Also I've heard and read that Spiti and ChandraTal are close by and a must visit, can it be managed in my 3 day trip?

Should I be following the exact same route while returning to Delhi?

Thanks

Guys I was planning on travelling over this weekend either to Uttaranchal or Himachal Pradesh. My schedule would be start from Delhi Saturday early morning, reach the destination,spend some time there, stay overnight, start sunday reach Delhi sunday evening. Now the problem is there are landslides happening in Uttaranchal....do not know the weather conditions in HP. Can anyone give me some inputs as to whether I should be travelling considering monsoons have hit North India or should I be selecting a destination in the plains ? My personal choice would be visiting the hills but my family is not too enthusiastic about it !! I will be travelling solo.

Guys I was planning on travelling over this weekend either to Uttaranchal or Himachal Pradesh. My schedule would be start from Delhi Saturday early morning, reach the destination,spend some time there, stay overnight, start sunday reach Delhi sunday evening. Now the problem is there are landslides happening in Uttaranchal....do not know the weather conditions in HP. Can anyone give me some inputs as to whether I should be travelling considering monsoons have hit North India or should I be selecting a destination in the plains ? My personal choice would be visiting the hills but my family is not too enthusiastic about it !! I will be travelling solo.