High in the Himalayas, a group of motorcycle-riding monks brings together ancient Buddhist rituals and the spirit of modern adventure.
At more than 11,000 feet above sea level, Bhutan’s Pelela Pass is a place where the mountains seem to disappear into the clouds. Thick mist frequently blankets the winding roads, reducing visibility to a few metres and forcing travellers to proceed cautiously. But on one particular journey, it was neither the treacherous terrain nor the unpredictable weather that brought traffic to a standstill.
A group of eight motorcyclists had stopped beside the mountain road. Dressed in riding gear, they gathered around a small fire of burning juniper branches, their voices rising together in a deep, rhythmic chant. To passing motorists, the sight was unusual: what appeared to be a band of motorcycle enthusiasts performing a mysterious ceremony in the middle of the Himalayas.
The riders, however, were no ordinary adventurers. They were Buddhist monks, observing centuries-old spiritual traditions amid one of Bhutan’s most dramatic mountain landscapes.
Their ceremony included the Riwo Sangcho, a traditional Tibetan Buddhist smoke offering intended to purify obstacles and make offerings to enlightened beings and local spirits, and the Serkyem, a ritual libation offered to spiritual protectors. In Himalayan Buddhist culture, such practices express reverence for the natural world and the unseen forces believed to inhabit it.
Among the riders stood Neten Chokling Rinpoche, a 53-year-old Buddhist spiritual teacher and filmmaker whose life bridges the contemplative world of Himalayan monasteries and the creative possibilities of contemporary cinema.
Despite his modest physical stature, Rinpoche carries an extraordinary spiritual legacy. Within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, he is recognised as the reincarnation of Chokgyur Lingpa, the celebrated 19th-century master renowned for revealing sacred teachings known as terma, or spiritual treasures. These teachings occupy an important place in the religious and cultural heritage of Tibetan Buddhism.
Yet the image of a revered lama travelling through mountain passes on a motorcycle offers a striking departure from conventional perceptions of monastic life.
For many, Buddhist monks evoke images of quiet meditation halls, prayer flags fluttering over remote monasteries and long hours devoted to scripture and contemplation. The sight of monks navigating Himalayan roads on powerful motorcycles challenges that familiar picture without diminishing the spiritual discipline at its heart.
At Pelela, the contrast was particularly vivid. Modern machines stood parked beside a mountain road while an ancient ceremony unfolded in the cold air. The leather jackets and helmets belonged unmistakably to the present, but the chants and offerings reflected a tradition preserved across generations.
The gathering also illustrated the enduring relationship between Himalayan Buddhism and the landscape in which it developed. Mountains, passes, rivers and forests are not merely geographical features in this spiritual worldview. They are places of profound religious significance, associated with protective deities, sacred histories and practices of reverence.
The juniper smoke drifting into the fog was therefore more than a ceremonial gesture. It represented an acknowledgement of the environment through which the travellers were passing and a continuation of rituals that have long accompanied journeys across the Himalayan region.
Neten Chokling Rinpoche’s presence added another dimension to the encounter. As both a religious figure and a filmmaker, he represents an intersection of tradition and modern expression, demonstrating how spiritual identity can coexist with pursuits far removed from the conventional image of monastic existence.
For the motorists who slowed to observe the roadside gathering, the experience offered an unexpected glimpse into a living religious tradition. What initially resembled an unusual roadside gathering of bikers revealed itself as a moment of devotion, rooted in beliefs far older than the motorcycles that had carried the monks there.
As the juniper burned and the chanting continued, the mist-shrouded pass became, briefly, an open-air sanctuary.
In that fleeting scene, the ancient and the contemporary stood side by side, offering a reminder that spirituality need not remain confined to monastery walls. Sometimes, it travels on two wheels, stopping along a mountain road to honour the land before the journey continues.
