India on the Enfield

I spent the last three weeks riding around northern India on my Royal Enfield. The following pictures are from the first part of the trip, from Rishikesh to Badrinath and back. I'll do another post about the second part of the trip.

I left from Rishikesh in the late afternoon, after two frustrating days of trying to get everything done that needed to be done before I could leave. Eventually I said "Fuck it!" and left without completing all I had planned to do. As usual, this was the best choice. As soon as I was on the road I felt much better about life and realized I didn't really need all that preparation anyway. The first night I made it to Devprayag, which is the river confluence that officially starts the Ganga River (Ganges). After a night in an awful shithole of a hotel, I began the very scenic ride up the Aleknanda river.

If you look closely, you can see a bulldozer in front of the bus. That guys tried to kill me. He almost managed to push me off the road along with a big load of dirt. One of many close calls. Riding in India keeps you on your toes!

The Aleknanda Valley is just gorgeous.


I rode about 220km, making it to Badrinath (3000m elevation), which is at the very upper end of the road. One of the headwaters of the Ganga. As if to make up for my previous night, I found an awesome hostel, brand new and I was the only person staying there. In fact, I was the fifth foreigner to ever stay there! A great room, in a great location for only 120 rupees ($2.50). I woke up the next morning and took a hike up to Vashundra Fall, a 45m waterfall 5km up a side valley.

I met this little guy on the way.

More 6000+ meter peaks than you can imagine.

Neelkanth, almost 7000m, shot from the middle of town. It's a little bit scenic up there.


My breakfast spot. Two samosas smothered in chick peas and chutney, for about 40 cents.


After I left Badrinath, I rode up to Auli, which is a small ski area. You can take a cable-car up from the town of Joshimath, but there's a beautiful road and I have a motorcycle.

At the top of the road with Nanda Devi (7800m) in the background.

Indian road signs are brilliant. I couldn't stop for a picture of every funny sign or I wouldn't have made it anywhere, but this one really killed me. I guess beating them with your belt is probably more effective than buying them an in-car DVD player.

On the way back to Rishikesh, I took a detour up to Chopta. No pictures because the road was too awesome to stop. Perfect blacktop through high-altitude jungle with almost zero other traffic. If you've traveled in India, you know that's a rare gift and I enjoyed it to its fullest.