Day one starts at Hotel Ambassador in Kathmandu. From there you're driven 1.5 hours east to Nagarkot, a ridgetop village at 2,000m, where the welcome is a Sherpa beer and a view across the valley. You build your bike, meet the support crew and settle in. The next morning you ride straight from the door up Nagarkot Hill to 2,150m, first on paved road and then on steep dirt track. Then you drop into a fast, flowy descent through pine forest and past houses, all the way to the valley floor. It's a warm-up for legs, lungs and bike handling before the altitude kicks in.

On day three you leave Nagarkot. After a short, steep climb to the summit, you take forest singletrack through villages, with hens and ducks underfoot and a couple of rocky sections. A 20-minute climb on more forest singletrack follows, then you roll down into Bhaktapur. Day four is an early flight to Pokhara, followed by a full day of serious off-roading in a 4x4 up the Kali Gandaki, through the world's deepest gorge, to reach Kalopani by sundown.

The Mustang section is the core of the trip. You ride from Jomsom up to Kagbeni at 2,900m. Next is the Lupra Pass at 4,100m, which opens with clean singletrack before a 20-minute stretch steep enough to make riding a real fight. The highest day climbs from the holy site of Muktinath (3,800m) to 4,300m, then descends on singletrack through tight village alleys and fields. After that, the landscape flips from arid and open back to alpine forest and apple orchards as you ride down the valley to Tukche and Kalopani. The last Mustang day is one of the biggest no-shuttle descents most riders will ever do, and it's bikes all the way down.

Back in Pokhara, the final ride starts at the World Peace Pagoda across the lake. You do a kora around the stupa, then ride a tricky, flowy forest descent to the bottom, with a second lap if time allows. You fly back to Kathmandu on day 11 and pack bikes. The trip ends with a private group dinner and a night out in town.

The riding is rated Intermediate+ with a fitness level of 5/7. Expect long double-track climbs and loose, rocky singletrack with golf ball- to head-sized rocks, plus ruts, sand, river crossings and the occasional 100m hike-a-bike to a summit. Suspension bridges are part of the deal, and you can ride or walk them. Altitude is a real factor, and the route is planned to let you acclimatise as you go. Each evening the guides talk through the next day's trails, and walking a section you don't fancy is completely normal.

The local guiding team is led by Mandil Pradhan, who plans the route, the lodging and the acclimatisation. The rest of the team includes Rajesh 'RJ Ripper' Magar, Nishma Shrestha, Arun Karki and Ashish Shrestha. They're first-aid qualified and have years of riding on these trails. Past riders single them out for their mechanical help, their bike skills and how well they look after the group.

What's included

- Fully qualified, English-speaking local mountain bike guide(s) throughout - All meals from dinner on day 1 to breakfast on day 12 - 11 nights' accommodation (based on two sharing) - National park and trekking permits - All ground costs - Back-up vehicles plus luggage and bike transfers - Two internal flights - All group safety equipment - Pick-up on day 1 and drop-off on day 12 (airport or recommended hotel, set times) - Airport transfer to your hotel if arriving 1-2 days early - Global Rescue medical and evacuation services - 1% of the tour price donated to environmental organisations via 1% for the Planet

What's not included

- International flights - Bike hire (£610 for a full-suspension mountain bike) - Travel and activity insurance (mandatory, must cover mountain biking) - Nepalese visa (bought on arrival) - Tips in restaurants and hotels - Single supplement (£850) - Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks - Personal safety and cycling equipment - Pre- and post-tour hotel nights in Kathmandu - Anything not listed as included