Four intrepid Cornish ladies will set off later this month on their motorbikes on a Himalayan Adventure to ride over the four highest mountain passes in the world.

The hardy quartet will tackle Khardung-La, the highest road in the world at 5605m (18,380ft) while on their trip, riding their bikes at an altitude two thirds as high as Everest.

Tiffany Coates from Penzance, an experienced motorcycle traveller and guide, will be leading Barbara Alam and Nicky Bassett-Powell, from Penponds, and Jill Flack, from St Agnes, on their three-week journey through Ladakh in the far north of India.

The ladies will start their journey in Delhi and head north on rented 500cc Royal Enfield motorcycles to Shimla, the bygone capital of the British Raj, and on up through the foothills of the Himalayas to the Kulla Valley, the ‘Valley of the Gods’. They will ride along cliff-hanging highways, knife ridges, deep gorges, through the famous Hanger Loops – 112 consecutive hairpin bends – and through jungles and high desert plains to reach Leh, the capital of Ladakh.

Based in Leh, the ladies will explore Kashmir and the Tibetan Plateau, which has massive glacial peaks along both sides and is filled with nomads and yaks. They will stay in tent camps on the shores of Lake Tsokar, as well as spending some time with the Buddhist monks at the 10th century monastery of Lamayuru.

Tiffany said: “The Himalayas are one of the most spectacular mountain ranges in the world and to experience them on motorbikes is incomparable. The twisting roads and constantly changing landscapes combined with the Tibetan Buddhist culture will make this the journey of a lifetime.