Mountain Biking in The Himalayas
Mountain biking in the Eastern Himalayas, particularly in the Darjeeling - Sikkim region, has seen a surge in interest recently, driven by growing environmental awareness and a heightened focus on personal health. The allure of moving at one's speed, with the flexibility to pause and resume the journey at will, holds a strong appeal for many.
Traditionally, mountain biking excursions in this area have catered mainly to international visitors. However, there is a notable uptick in interest among domestic tourists, particularly the younger generation.
Sikkim Mountain Biking
Sikkim stands out as an exceptional destination for mountain biking, offering a diverse landscape ripe for exploration. Combining your adventure with a journey through the picturesque Darjeeling Hills adds another layer of charm to your experience. Within Sikkim's six districts, each area offers its unique allure.
The South district, now known as Namchi, along with the Pakyong and Soreng districts, present predominantly medium to low-altitude terrains. In contrast, the East District, renamed Gangtok, and the West District, now Gyalsing, provide opportunities for medium to high-altitude adventures. Meanwhile, the North District, known as Mangan, predominantly offers high-altitude destinations.
Mountain biking emerges as a premier adventure tourism activity in Sikkim, capitalizing on its rugged terrain and challenging road conditions. Bikes offer access to remote locations unlike traditional vehicles, making it an unparalleled adventure. Additionally, it's considered one of the safer adventure sports.
At Humro Tours, we pioneered mountain biking in Sikkim over twenty years ago, blazing trails since 2002. Our commitment to excellence has established us as leaders in the field, boasting top-notch equipment and expert guides. Our meticulously crafted programs typically span five to seven days, encompassing iconic destinations like Gangtok, Ravangla, Pelling, and Yuksom. Many enthusiasts opt to extend their journey by combining Darjeeling's charm with Sikkim's adventure, adding another four to five days to their itinerary. Notably, our North Sikkim tour caters exclusively to seasoned bikers, ensuring a thrilling and safe experience for all.
Darjeeling Mountain Biking
The picturesque landscapes of Kalimpong and Darjeeling hills offer enchanting biking routes at lower altitudes. Typically, tourists kick off their biking escapades from Siliguri, Kurseong, or Mirik, conveniently located within an hour and a half's drive from Bagdogra Airport. Over five to six days, cyclists traverse popular destinations such as Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Lava, and Loleygaon.
While the region lacks defined biking trails, it compensates with a plethora of lesser-travelled roads ideal for biking enthusiasts. Our biking programs meticulously chart these routes, veering away from bustling highways to embrace the serene charm of the countryside. For a more extensive adventure, travellers often opt to blend Sikkim or Dooars into their biking itinerary alongside Darjeeling. Some even choose to encompass both regions, embarking on an immersive journey spanning 15 to 18 days, embracing the rich diversity of the entire region.
Fitness
Embarking on mountain biking tours necessitates a good level of physical fitness. While prior experience offers a significant advantage, newcomers are warmly welcomed into the fold. If you're venturing into this realm for the first time, we strongly advise biking a minimum of 20 km daily for a month leading up to your trip to ensure preparedness. Beginners are encouraged to initiate their biking journeys in the plains or low-altitude destinations, with Dooars presenting an excellent starting point.
For seasoned riders seeking an adrenaline-fueled adventure, we orchestrate biking experiences reaching elevations of 12 to 14 thousand feet. These exhilarating expeditions span North Sikkim's Yumthang Valley, Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang region, and the rugged terrains of Leh and Ladakh in the Western Himalayas.
Group Size
Our biking groups typically range from 6 to 20 members, offering an intimate yet dynamic experience. However, our expertise extends to catering to smaller groups of just two individuals, as well as larger gatherings of up to 40 members.
Travelling in smaller groups may incur slightly higher costs per person, as the expenses for support services such as backup vehicles and trained guides are divided among fewer participants. Conversely, managing larger groups poses its challenges, often resulting in slower movement, particularly if team members lack extensive biking experience. Nonetheless, our seasoned guides ensure that each group, regardless of size, receives personalized attention and a memorable biking adventure.
Safety
Ensuring the safety and security of our bikers is our paramount concern. We adhere to the highest safety standards throughout our tours, implementing best practices to safeguard our participants at every step of the journey.
To guarantee swift response in case of emergencies, all our tours are accompanied by backup vehicles equipped for fast evacuation. Our tour leaders and guides undergo rigorous training not only in biking techniques but also in first aid and hazard management. Their expertise ensures that they are well-equipped to handle any situation that may arise during the tour.
In this regard, we strictly adhere to the guidelines outlined by the Department of Tourism and other relevant authorities, ensuring that our safety protocols remain comprehensive and up-to-date. Your well-being is our top priority, and we spare no effort in ensuring a safe and enjoyable biking experience for all our participants.
Our Expertise
As pioneers in adventure tourism, we take pride in being among the first to introduce mountain biking to the Eastern Himalayas. Our journey began in 2004 with our inaugural biking trip in the Sikkim Darjeeling area, marking the commencement of numerous exhilarating biking tours across the entire Eastern Himalayan region, extending to Leh and Ladakh.
Over the years, we've fostered collaborations with several prominent biking organizations from around the globe, facilitating unforgettable biking experiences in the Eastern Himalayas. Our dedication to excellence is reflected in our acquisition of international-standard biking infrastructure, featuring top-of-the-line bikes and expertly trained team leaders.
Through innovation, passion, and unwavering commitment to quality, we continue to push the boundaries of adventure tourism, providing enthusiasts with unparalleled biking adventures amidst the breathtaking landscapes of the Eastern Himalayas.
Our Gear
Since our inception in 2002, we've been at the forefront of mountain biking in North East India, utilizing Indian mountain bikes during our pioneering tours. Over the years, Humro Tours has evolved significantly in orchestrating exceptional mountain biking experiences.
Today, we boast a fleet of state-of-the-art imported mountain bikes, with our preferred choice being Trek™ bikes renowned for their status as "the best bikes in the world". With arguably the largest collection of mountain bikes among travel organizations in North East India, we continuously expand our inventory to accommodate the growing demand from our clientele.
Our mountain bikes have conquered altitudes exceeding 15,000 ft, particularly in the challenging terrain of North Sikkim. During exhilarating downhill rides, our bikes achieve impressive speeds, underscoring the need for top-notch performance parts. From brakes to wheels, handlebars to forks, and saddles to accessories, every component is meticulously selected to withstand the rigours of mountain biking. We exclusively employ internationally acclaimed accessories from renowned brands, ensuring the utmost safety and performance for our riders.
Tour Ideas
we cater to both hardcore mountain bikers seeking adrenaline-pumping adventures and leisure tourists desiring a touch of soft adventure amidst their leisurely travels. Our offerings range from immersive mountain biking programs spanning 7 to 15 days to shorter half-day soft adventure biking experiences.
While our website features hand-crafted tour packages derived from our extensive experience, we understand that individual preferences vary. As advocates of personalized service, we eschew a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, we specialize in tailoring biking programs to meet your specific requirements and preferences. While the packages showcased on our site serve as valuable references for common biking trips to the region, we encourage customization to ensure a truly unforgettable adventure tailored to your needs.
Basic safety guidelines for mountain biking
* Keep younger riders in the middle of the pack and take frequent rest stops with kids.
* Ride a single file with the flow of traffic.
* Obey all traffic signals and road signs.
* Follow the instructions of the biking team leader.
* Ride defensively and never assume that drivers will see you.
* Never venture out alone without informing the team leader.
* Do not drive behind the support vehicle provided by us. The support vehicle carrying spares and medicine should always be the last.
Adventure Tourism Activities in general do have certain elements of risk associated with them. The risk adds to the charm of these activities. However, the safety and security of the participants in such activities must remain paramount. The government of India has laid down guidelines for minimum acceptable standards for adventure tourism activity in terms of equipment and human resources. However, no specific guideline is available for Mountain Biking activity. There are certain internationally acceptable guidelines for safe biking. We at Humro Tours, try to follow the best national and international practices in mountain biking.
1. Danger Awareness – Our Mountain Biking activities vary from soft adventure to hardcore long-duration biking tours. Although every precaution is taken to ensure safety and security, it is important that as a participant you understand that you are primarily responsible for your safety. The Biking activity involves substantial stress and the fellow bikers, even with the best of intentions, may not always be able to come to your help. The participant must be physically fit and be confident to take the challenge of biking on his / her own. The skill level would vary according to the tour you participate. If you are not confident about your fitness or biking skills in comparison to the requirements of the tour, you should avoid participating in the program or choose a program that is less straining.
2. Guide Expertise – The team leaders and guides accompanying your tour are always highly experienced and skilled. There is no proper training facility available for mountain biking in India. Our guides have learned the skills based on practice, self-learning and experience. We also conduct internal camps to continuously freshen up the skills of our guides who are some of the best in the region and are also qualified in first aid.
3. Evacuation Assistance – All long-duration biking tours are accompanied by a backup vehicle. The vehicle carries the first aid kit and also helps evacuate the biker in case of any medical emergency.
4. Trip Information – Information about the daily travel distance, road conditions, inclination etc is given with each tour. You must go through the details before you join a tour. This information helps prepare the tour participants to be ready for the challenges ahead.
5. Tools – The standard tools to ensure safe biking are used by our team. These equipment would include Walkie Talkie, First Aid Kit, Cell phones, Bike maintenance equipment etc.
Is this tour for me?
If you love adventure, Mountain Biking is definitely for you. Not all mountain bikers are of similar interest and fitness. We organise mountain biking by expert bikers who bring their bikes and spend two weeks in the mountains. On the other hand, we also organise leisure tours where the guests may spend half a day cycling at a hill station. Whether you are a hard-core adventure person or a leisure tourist looking for soft adventure sports, mountain biking may be equally interesting for both.
Where do you organise these Biking tours?
Most of our long-duration mountain biking programs are organised in the Darjeeling - Sikkim hills. They are also organised in Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh and Dooars area. Soft biking trips are organised in places where mountain biking inventory is available.
How many people are on each tour?
Half-biking tours can be organised for small groups of people as there is no big logistics involved. If you are going for a longer-duration biking tour, you should ideally be in a group. We have organised a Biking tour even for a couple, but the cost in such cases increases slightly.
Do I have to carry my luggage?
We always have backup vehicles accompanying the mountain bikes. For larger groups we may provide two vehicles as backup; One for carrying the guests and the other for carrying the bikes. So all your luggage will be carried by the accompanying vehicle and you will be free to bike.
Do you supply meals and drinks?
All the food requirements of our Mountain Biking guests are taken care of by our team. This includes the three major meals as well as light food during the biking breaks. The Breakfast and Dinner are organised at the overnight accommodation whereas the lunch is provided on the way.
What distance do we travel?
The distance covered depends entirely on the terrain. We take our guests from the plains as well as to the hills. In the mountain, you can be reaching as high as 16,000 to 18,000 ft (5500 meters). At lower altitudes, you may travel as much as 70 to 80 km especially when you are travelling downhill. On higher altitudes and uphill drives, the daily biking may be restricted to 20 km or less.
What happens if I can't complete the day's riding?
You always have a backup vehicle to take care of any exigency. You may simply put your bike in the vehicle and ride it to your next destination. Almost all the places where we bike the roads are motorable and the accompanying vehicle would mostly be following the same route. In exceptional cases, you might be travelling through a route different from the route followed by the vehicle. In such cases, your tour guide will assist you in case you have any difficulty.
Do you provide insurance?
The travel insurance is to be arranged by the biker directly. We do not provide travel insurance currently. However, it is a pre-condition of our tour that you should be adequately covered by insurance. The insurance must cover mountain biking and the risks related to a mountain biking holiday.
Do you offer group booking discounts?
All our Mountain Biking tours are customised to your specific requirements. We will quote you a tariff that is unique to your tour. As the group size increases the cost of the tour naturally gets reduced.
Do I need to be fit to go on a rafting trip?
If you are going for a biking trip of several days duration, you will need to have good physical fitness. Some experience will be helpful. If you are a fresher, we recommend that you take biking trips in your own country before going for a biking trip with us. If you are looking for a short biking trip of half or one-day duration, you will need to have reasonable physical fitness.
What kind of food will I be served?
We mostly serve continental food along with some local food during our biking trips. The food requirement can also be customised as per your requirements.
Is the water safe for me to drink?
You will be provided with packaged drinking water during the tour. This is safe for you to consume.
What wheel size do you use?
Our mountain bikes are all standard 26-inch wheel sizes. Although 29-inch and 650B wheels are also used by some bikers, the majority of our bikers prefer the 26-inch standard.
Do you provide Women-specific bikes?
All our mountain bikes are of standard size which can be used with ease by both genders. You may bring your personal woman bicycle seat which often makes a difference in the ride quality. This is also not difficult to carry during long-distance travel.
What if I want to bring my bike?
We welcome guests who want to use their bikes. We will take care of your bike like our own while you are travelling with us. The avid bikers often bring their customised bikes and we completely understand your preference.
What tyre pressure would I be using?
The tyre pressure varies widely depending on the rider and the terrain. You will be accompanied during the tour by our tour leader as well as a full set of equipment. You can adjust the tyre pressure with help from our tour leader as per your requirement. Typically the tyre pressure varies between 20 to 35 psi.
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