Browse motorcycle routes across India — distance, difficulty, best season and road conditions, at a glance.
UdaipurKumbhalgarhThrough Aravalli villages and farmland to a hill fort whose walls run for kilometres over the ridges. An easy half-day from Udaipur.
JaipurSambhar LakeWest out of Jaipur to India's largest inland salt lake, flat and white, with flamingos in winter. Ride the causeway at sunrise.
JaipurAbhaneri (Chand Baori)An easy highway morning east to the Chand Baori, a stepwell more than a thousand years old with some 3,500 steps. Add Bhangarh for a longer day.
JaipurRanthambore (Sawai Madhopur)Four-lane NH 52 through Tonk, then a quieter road into Sawai Madhopur. Book a safari well ahead, or just ride up to the fort for the views.
SiliguriDarjeelingFrom the plains to over 2,000 metres in a morning, following the toy train's line through Kurseong. Short, steep and slow, with tea gardens all the way.
ChandigarhChailLeave the Shimla traffic at Kandaghat and climb through pine forest to a palace town with the world's highest cricket ground.
DelhiMukteshwarThe same Kumaon ride as Nainital, but it keeps going past Bhimtal to a quiet ridge with Himalayan views on a clear morning.
DelhiAmritsarGrand Trunk Road all the way, dhabas every few kilometres and the Golden Temple at the end. Long but simple, and a good test before your first hill trip.
DelhiShimlaFlat highway to Chandigarh, then a steady climb on a road that is mostly four-lane now. Start early, because the Parwanoo stretch jams by mid-morning.
DelhiManaliThe ride most Delhi riders save up for. A long highway day to Kiratpur, then the Beas valley all the way up. Too much for one day, so plan a night on the way.
DelhiNainitalHighway across the plains, then a steady climb to the lake. Long enough that most riders start before sunrise.
DelhiMussoorieFlat and fast until Dehradun, then the road turns up. The climb is short but it is the whole character of the ride.
MumbaiMahabaleshwarLonger than the Pune approach and with more highway before the hills. The ghat section at the end is the reason to go.
ChennaiTirupatiStraightforward highway with plenty of stops, easy enough to do and return the same day.
BangaloreHampiA long, flat haul with the boulder landscape of Hampi at the end. The distance is the challenge, not the road.
