9-Day Himalaya Mountain Bike Tour from Shimla to Daramshala

Our first day is a little shorterto adapt to the altitude here. We leave Shimla and start our tour on forest trails and single trails to our first stage destination. Dakbanglow is a camp in the middle of a magnificent apple plantation. But don’t worry: Camp doesn’t mean camping or showering. No, we have comfortable small bungalows with private bathrooms at our disposal. We end the evening comfortably by the campfire, while we enjoy the delicious food and maybe one or the other Kingfisher beer. Overnight at Camp -/L/D

Today, the single trail fun really starts: wild village trails invite you to make full use of the technical skills. If you haven’t quite made friends with trail riding and prefer to have a number easier when it comes to driving technique, you can also take the alternative route with our second guide. Once down, we all meet again and make our way together on the 20-kilometre-long ascent. Here, in Matiana, we meet the highway and also our wonderful mountain resort. Overnight stay at Resort B/L/D

Today we have two alternative routes at our disposal: If you want to challenge yourself athletically, take a few extra single trails with you and drive down into a side valley before going on a steep ascent. The other part stays a few kilo-meters comfortably on the main road to Narkanda and then dives down into the world of single trails. It goes down to 1000 m to the huge Satluj river. For those who already road single trails, still have the option to stay on the road or push through the small villages and fields. Once down, we drive along the river and then take the “Climb of the Day”. Almost 30 km of ascent and 1000 hm are waiting for us on mostly well rolling asphalt in an initially brutal heat. Once at the top, the world looks very different. Here we are far from the civilization and tourism, so that we accept the hospitality of the villagers, who spoil us with cozy rooms and local food at home. Overnight stay at Homestay B/L/D

Today we pass through deep Deodar forest and we pass remote villages. A small single trail loop provides an extra to our trail junkies. Then we continue uphill before we cycle down an old village road. Here the next ascent awaits us: from 1500 m it goes up to over 3000 m. A continuous and at first quite steep climb – all off road. The pass rewards with a magnificent view. Then we go down to the tranquil village of Gada Gushaini. This village has been used for many years as the place of rest of the famous MTB Himalaya race. We live in a nice inn, visit the village in the afternoon and end the evening in the peaceful surroundings. Overnight stay in the inn B/L/D

99% off-road promises today with a nice climb and long descents. In good weather we have wonderful views of the high Himalayas. The stage ends at the River Beas near Mandi. Probably one of the most beautiful stages of this tour. Overnight stay in the hotel. B/L/D

The figures may look a little scary, but today is in kilometres, but also relatively fast, as we are mainly on an unavoidable road. The stage serves as a link between the districts of Mandi and Kangra. Nevertheless, the tour has a lot of spectacular views to offer, because we are on a small village road directly on the mountain ridge with fascinating views on both sides. A small path provides variety and we are also in the nice Barot valley. Barot is famous among anglers for its trout and of course we will also taste it for dinner. Overnight stay in the inn. B/L/D

In the MTB Himalaya race, this stage is called “Into the Wild” and this very name hits the exact day. It goes up to the last village of the valley. From here we take a donkey trail, cross the river, push up the slope a bit and then continue on pristine terrain to Billing. Billing is famous for paragliding. But instead of flying down to Bir, we shouldn’t miss the great trails. Bir is a Buddhist enclave consisting of Tibetan refugees with monasteries, Tibetan flags and Buddhist monks. Overnight stay at Hotel B/L/D

Since today is only a short stage on the program, we have time to sleep or maybe take a paragliding flight – half a rest day, so to speak. Later we set off on side routes to Palampur. Overnight stay at Hotel B/L/D

ngle trails and a last nice climb and we have reached our destination. in a nice restaurant we celebrate our tour. B/L/-