The road from Srinagar to Leh negotiates high passes and fragile mountainsides. There are dramatic scenic and cultural changes as you go from Muslim, verdant Kashmir to Buddhist, ascetic Ladakh. After crossing the Zoji La pass you will drive through rugged mountains to arrive at lush green villages set in valleys. Along the way you visit Lamayuru with its moonlandscape and the 12th century Alchi monastery.

After acclimatising to the altitude, you can explore Leh. It used to be one of the busiest market towns on the caravan trade between India and Central Asia. These days it retains a distinctly central Asian feel. You need one full day to explore the Indus Valley gompas of Shey, Tikse & Hemis. The Hemis monastery is the biggest and wealthiest monastery in Ladakh. Colourful flags flutter in the breeze from the four pillars in the courtyard.

North of Leh, the Nubra Valley is a sublime mixture of cultivated fields set in an arid desert that glows with white sand surrounded by the Karakoram Range and sliced by rivers. After crossing the Khardungla Pass, you descend to the villages of Nubra, which were important stops for rations along the Silk Road to Central Asia. You find here the rare double-humped Bactrian camels once used for transport on the Silk Road.

The 2 day drive from Leh to Manali takes you through some of the highest passes in the world including the second highest motorable pass in the world - Tanglangla at 5328 metres. Running through a starkly beautiful lunar-like wilderness, inhabited only by nomadic shepherds, this journey will be one of the most unforgettable of your life. Be prepared for landslides and vehicular breakdowns; they are part of the adventure.

Sikkim is still one of the last Himalayan `Shangri-Las' with its remoteness, spectacular mountain terrain, hundreds of varieties of orchids and ancient Buddhist monasteries. Add to this the charm of the people and their cultural traditions, and you have a land with few equals in the world!

The Nagas have come to exemplify an exotic society - renowned for their fierce resistance to intruders and their practice of headhunting. Even though times have changed and Nagaland is fast modernizing, the people have retained many of their old customs. On this pioneering journey, you visit the remote northern part of Nagaland where life in villages has little changed. The scenery is stunning with green valleys, meandering streams, high mountains with deep gorges and a rich variety of flora and fauna.