June 21 marks World Motorcycle Day, the day celebrating the spirit of motorcycling. While motorcycling enthusiasts celebrate every ride as they do on World Motorcycle Day, motorcycling is much more than just riding, the kind of motorcycle you own or what you use it for. It is more about the relationship you share with your motorcycle. Royal Enfield, the iconic motorcycle brand and the pioneer in the leisure motorcycling space, through its marquee rides and motorcycle-led events and experiences, has always encouraged riding enthusiasts to explore the world around them and rediscover themselves. By constantly encouraging motorcyclists to ‘Ride More’ the brand has brought the community together to participate in the wonderful pursuit of ‘Pure Motorcycling experience’.

Here are some of the epic rides by Royal Enfield, which have opened up new horizons of motorcycling experiences for riders and enthusiasts.

1 – As tradition dictates, July is the season to ride to the Himalayas and is also the time for Royal Enfield’s marquee ride, the  Himalayan Odyssey, which is one of the first rides to the gruelling mountainous passes of Ladakh, started way back in 1999. This year the pioneer ride of the Ladakh circuit, Himalayan Odyssey, is back after 3 years with its 18th edition and will take riders across Umling La, the new highest motorable road in the world. The ride offers an opportunity for riders to rediscover Himalayan landscape over 17 days of adventure riding through some of the most challenging terrain, water crossings, and uncharted roads, offering an experience like no other. This year Himalayan Odyssey will focus on ‘single-use-plastic-ride’ aimed at propagating the notion of a sustainable motorcycle journey.

2 – Continuing its quest to explore the scenic Himalayan routes, Royal Enfield hosted the Himalayan Adventure Mustang 2022 earlier this year – riding to the high mountains of Nepal that are not frequented by tourists. Sheltered by some of the world’s highest mountains, the 8000-meter peaks of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri, bordering China and the Tibetan plateau, lies the ancient “Forbidden Kingdom” of Mustang. The riders went an arduous journey to Lo Manthang, starting at Pokhara. Riding alongside the Kali Gandaki gorge (the deepest gorge in the world), the riders crossed Kagbeni before the steep climb to Lo, going through the idyllic villages of Ghami and Tsarang known for the monasteries that have existed since a few centuries.

3 – The Himalayan routes are the spiritual home of Royal Enfield, and to explore more of the beautiful hidden gems in the Himalayas, Royal Enfield hosts the Himalayan Adventure – Rongbuk. A ride that offers a chance to ride to the high mountains of Nepal and Tibet, not frequented by tourists. In its last edition, Royal Enfield ventured into the core of the Himalayan region, Tibet to attempt an overland journey to the base camps of three of the eight thousand metre peaks in the world, Mt Everest, Shishapangma and Cho Oyu. While the ride to Rongbuk is the highlight of the ride, the journey to the Shishapangma and the Cho Oyu base camps are equally stunning.

4 – Motorcycling as a genre has a strong synergy with photography, and with an aim to always go above and beyond, the brand curated the Astral Ride,, especially for motorcycle and astral photography enthusiasts. An absolute masterstroke by Royal Enfield, blending the joys of photography with the thrills of riding. Royal Enfield has hosted this ride in the pristine dunes in Rann of Kutch, the beautiful plateau in Changthang, and this year the brand plans to explore the astral photography in the amazing Spiti valley, opening up newer horizons in motorcycling and photography.

5 – Himalayan Adventure – Zanskar, a ride that is especially designed for Royal Enfield owners who have ridden to the Himalayas before but now are seeking out for more adventure. This ride offers an experience of a much purer form of motorcycling where there would be stretches off-road riding, challenging terrain, water crossings, and uncharted roads. It offers a great opportunity to ride through the newly opened motorable roads through the Zanskar valley, uninfluenced by the outside world. Sheltered by the magnificent mountains of the Great Himalayan range – averaging an altitude of 3,600m with peaks as high as 7,000m – Zanskar is one of the true last strongholds of ancient Tibetan Buddhist culture.

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