The Newest and Craziest Way to Trek the Himalayas Is in a Rickshaw

While start and finish lines are provided, everything in-between is up to you. The route starts in Leh, a city in northern India, and follows the Leh-Manali Highway and Spiti Valley route to the end, in Shimla, India. Along the 650-mile journey, you’ll travel through dramatic mountain passes higher than 17,000 feet and thousand-year-old Buddhist monasteries.

The trip is designed to bring you into contact with the local, semi-nomadic people who live in the Himalayas in yurt-style tents, and who also happen to be among the most welcoming in the world. While there are small guesthouses along the way, it’s not uncommon for travelers to be invited by locals to spend the night in their yurts. Since you don’t need to physically carry tons of bags, which make an on-foot trek take several weeks, the Rickshaw Run can be completed in just one week’s time.

The Rickshaw Run will take place from June 21 to June 29, starting in Leh and ending in Shimla, and again from September 6 to September 14 — though the September route is reversed. Teams are expected to raise $1,313 for Cool Earth each in order to participate — which will go toward saving the rainforests — in addition to the regular cost of $2,752 per team of three. To sign up or learn more, visit the booking page.