North by Northeast Journeys

Cherrapunji and Mawsynram both in Meghalaya take their turn recording some of the heaviest rainfall on the planet. On this bicycle and hike tour of Meghalaya we will be riding through the west Khasi and neighbouring Jaintia hills overlooking the plains of Bangladesh. Deep forested valleys, gushing rivers, innumerable waterfalls, natural root bridges, archery competitions, village markets will be your companions through this cycling holiday of Meghalaya.

This cycling tour of Arunachal Pradesh, the eastern most state of India takes you to the watershed of the mighty Brahmaputra River. Exciting experiences right from crossing one of the largest rivers in India at Dibrugarh to cycling through the riverine areas of the Siang, Dibang and the Lohit Rivers of eastern Arunachal Pradesh . This bicycle tour offers bounties of wide vistas, little known villages, myriads of ethnic groups and some of the better wildlife sanctuaries of the subcontinent. All the while living in some quaint family run guest houses, homestays and camps .

This particular cycle tour is set in the lush easternmost state of India, Arunachal Pradesh. The ride takes us to the Mishmi Hills at the far eastern end of the Himalayas. Starting from the Namdapha National Park to the Acheso Valley which is where the road ends (If there were a road we would end up in China). In between the start and the end, one will traverse across varied landscape, terrain, road conditions and meet the all important tribes of this region. From the tropical forests of Namdapha and Kamlang to the cane and grasslands of the Acheso valley, everyday is a revelation. Starting with the rich plains of the Lohit which works as a nice warm up to the challenging cycling conditions of that lays ahead in the Mishmi hills.
 

The Trans Meghalaya cycling tour takes us across the three hill ranges of the state. Starting from the west in the Garo Hills, we ride eastewards across the Khasi and Jaintia hills, in essence taking in the best that the state has to offer. The  state of Meghalaya is the first line of hills that the Monsoon clouds touch upon crossing peninsular India, hence it receives some of the highest rainfall anywhere on earth. The sate has three distinct major tribes after whom the hills are known for. Over the duration of this tour you will be cycling across the best that Meghalaya has to offer. Some of the deepest caves and highest waterfalls of Asia, distinct cultures and cuisine, pristine wildlife sanctuaries, the living root bridges and most of all the wonderful panoramas.

This cycling tour of western Arunachal Pradesh takes you all the way to the periphery of beautiful Tawang. The setting of this ride of Arunachal Pradesh is in the Buddhist belt home to the Monpa and Sherdukpen people. Close to the border with Bhutan and Tibet, this is one of the highest motorable routes of the eastern Himalayas, at places taking you to an altitude of 4200mts. The road condition though not at the best is still better than most parts of Arunachal Pradesh. The cycling phase covers between 300 to 650Kms, riding on little used roads of western Arunachal Pradesh. Incidentally, in a rough manner we mirror the same route the Dalai Lama used in his exodus from Tibet.

We will generally be in sub alpine rural himalayas, this provides us an excellent opportunity to observe life in these parts, interact with the locals and throughout be accompanied by amazing panoramas of the high himalayas. This tour takes you through most of the important locations of this state, both historic and cultural.