Laos is more a transit country for us. In total, we will be riding 220 km along the main transit road connecting Thailand with China. We will overnight in Boten, close to the Chinese border.

China is huge, more of a continent than a country. We will ride through Yunnan province. Along the route, we will visit the ancient Silk Road city of Dali and Lijiang. Lijiang is located at the foot of the Snow Mountain, 5,640m. Once leaving Lijiang we start our ascent into the Himalayan mountain range. Among the highlights will be the “Tiger Leap Gorge”, the old city of “Shangri-La” and the White Horse pass, our first high mountain pass at 4,292m.

This is where our real adventure begins. We will spend 3 weeks and ride some 5,300 km mostly above 4,000m elevation. We will pass untouched lakes glaciers, rivers, and valleys. The most interesting bits are villages, landscapes and remote locations including a view of Mt Everest at 8,848m and crossing the Mt. Dongdala pass at 5,009m. The cultural high lights are the historical center in Lhasa with its world-famous site, the Potala Palace and the ancient city of Kashgar. Prior to reaching Kashgar we will ride the Gobi desert to Dunhuang, one of the most important trading posts in this part of the ancient silk road.

Entering Kyrgyzstan at the Torugart port, 3’752m. All in all, we intend to spend 9 days and ride 2,200 km in Kyrgyzstan. During those days we will ride around the 2nd largest saline lake in the world, Issyk Kul in the Tian Chan mountains. Explore old Bazar in Bishkek, the capital. Visit the world’s largest walnut forest and the remote village of Arslanbob in the Jalal-Abad Region. Turning south we pass the old city of Osh followed by the Kyzyl-Art Pass at 4,280 bordering to Tajikistan. In Osh we have the chanse to make service on our motorcycles and change tires.

This part of our itinerary is as hard as it gets. During our intended 9 days in Tajikistan, riding 1,200 km through spectacular landscapes and challenging roads. A big part is along the Afghan border. The Pamir highway is the second-highest highway in the world. It crosses the whole Pamir region of Tajikistan, running from Osh to Khorog to Dushanbe. From this road, we can look at China, peek into Pakistan and wave to villagers in Afghanistan. We start with riding through the Badakhshan National Park, Ak-Baital Pass at 4,655m, highest in the Pamirs, Alichur valley and the village of Balun Kul on our way to Wakhan Valley with its many fortresses and rock carvings. There are plenty villages and sights along the way, and Afghanistan is just a literal stone’s throw away. In Ishkashim, we might be able to cross over into Afghanistan for the Saturday border market. From here we turn north towards Khorog (the capital of the Pamir’s). At Kalaikhum we leave the Afghan border and continue over the Saghirdasht pass 3,252m towards Tavildara and the capital Dushanbe were we enjoy some urban life and comfort. If the northern route to Uzbekistan is open we will cross the Funn mountains and visit Iskanderkul on our way to Samarkand.

If you are interested in history, watch or read "The Great Game" illustrating the political and diplomatic confrontation that existed for most of the 19th century between the British Empire and the Russian Empire over Afghanistan and neighboring territories in Central and South Asia.

Turkmenistan like North Korea is one of the most closed countries in the world. Our intended stay is 7 days and ride some +1,000 km. Halfway between the Uzbekistan border and Ashgabat, the capital lies the unique gas crater, “Door to Hell”. Ashgabat, the marble new part of town in contrast with the older Soviet-style older part. We will leave our motorcycles in Ashgabat and take the train and visit the historical towns of Merv and Mary  On our way back to Ashgabat we will visit Abiverd and Anau Mosque. From Ashgabat we ride to the Caspian Sea town of Turkmenbashi where we take the ferry to Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan was the first country in the world experiencing an oil boom during the 19th century. Oil is still the main income! The ferry will bring us close to Baku, the capital. Our stay in Azerbaijan is 4-5 days and we will ride some 500 km. Rest day in Baku visiting the medieval walled old city and other attractions. Our next and final stop is the historic town Shaki in northern Azerbaijan on the southern part of the Greater Caucasus mountain range.

Georgia together with the Baltic States is the country developing the most since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Our plan is to stay 8 days and ride 1,200 km. Our first stop in this small and diverse country is the wine-growing area of Telavi. From here we can ride up to the Abano pass at 2,850m, the highest mountain pass in the Caucasus. In Tbilisi, the capital we explore the old town and enjoy urban life. From here we ride to Kazbegi National park and explore this part of the high Caucasus Mountains. Our final stop is the Black Sea resort town of Batumi or Hopa from where we take the ferry to Bulgaria.

Welcome to continental Europe. Itinerary from here will be finally decided based on arrival date to Bulgaria. We need to arrive at Garmisch/Germany early July. Ferry will call the port of Varna. We plan to stay 4 days and ride 500 km in Bulgaria. Spending a day visiting Sofia, the capital before continuing north toward Romania.

Romania known for the forested region of Transylvania, ringed by the Carpathian Mountains. Its preserved medieval towns and fortified churches and castles, notably clifftop Bran Castle, long associated with the Dracula legend. We will ride both Trans Fagaras and Alpina high way. Bucharest, the country’s capital, is the site of the gigantic, Communist-era Palatul Parlamentului government building. We will explore it all.

The Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the southwest, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. We will exlore its capital Bratislava, located along the Donau river.

Slovenia is a small alpine country of two million inhabitants. We will stay overnight close to the Slovenian capital Ljubljana. The following day we will ride country roads into the alps and the Italian border.

Crossing over the border form Slovenia, leaving the Julian alps behind we ride into the Dolomites. This is one of the most pitoresque part of the alps. Entering south Tyrol, historically and cultural closer to Austria than Italy. On small alpine roads we make our way to the Brenner pass and into Austria.

Entering Austria we leave the Brenner pass behind and descend down to the beautiful town of Innsbruck for a short break. From here we continue north towards 

We have just crossed through the alps and are now in the northern part of the mountain range. Garmisch - Partenkirchen and the BMW Motorrad Days, the biggest BMW Motorrad gathering in the world is ahead of us. This yearly event takes place during the first weekend of July. Meet fellow riders, share your experience from the “Ride of a lifetime” and enjoy the atmosphere.