Pioneers Leg 15 · Sunday 15 November 2026

Tijara to Aligarh

Down from the fort at dawn and into the quiet lanes of rural Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Distance
176km
109.1 mi
Climbing
595m
1,952 ft
Descent
724m
2,375 ft
High point
331m
1,086 ft

The day's digital “cloth” map

  1. Start
    0.0 km / 0.0 mi
    Tijara Fort Palace
    Leave from 07.30 onwards after the start photo on the ramparts.
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    42.6 km · 26.5 mi to water stop
  2. Water stop
    42.6 km / 26.5 mi
    Morning water and toilet stop
    Water, snacks and toilets from the support van.
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    51.7 km · 32.1 mi to lunch
  3. Lunch
    94.3 km / 58.6 mi
    Lunch stop
    Confirmed lunch stop at the marked location.
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    19.2 km · 11.9 mi to water stop
  4. Water stop
    113.5 km / 70.5 mi
    Afternoon water stop
    Water and snacks from the support van.
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    56.7 km · 35.2 mi to the ITC
  5. ITC riders stop here
    170.2 km / 105.8 mi
    ITC Fortune Park Hotel, Aligarh
    ITC riders stop here at 170.2 km. Dinner 19.00 on the ITC roof for everyone. Transport from the Lemon Tree at 18.30.
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    5.4 km · 3.4 mi to the overflow hotel
  6. Finish: Lemon Tree Hotel
    175.6 km / 109.1 mi
    Lemon Tree Hotel, Aligarh
    Finish for Lemon Tree riders at 175.6 km. Transport to dinner leaves at 18.30. Dinner 19.00 on the ITC roof for everyone.
    Open in Maps

Ride25 crew

Call the crew for a lift, a mechanical or if you are lost. Everyone is also in the ride WhatsApp group.

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Tonight’s arrangements

ITC Fortune Park Hotel, Aligarh; overflow: Lemon Tree Hotel. Dinner 19.00 on the ITC roof for everyone. Transport from the Lemon Tree at 18.30.

Route map

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  • Route
  • Stops
  • Wind, km/h

Elevation

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Wind and weather

Too far ahead for a forecast yet, so these are the conditions on the same day last year. Winds were light, around 8 to 10 km/h, mostly north westerly. Dry, about 17°C early and up to 26°C. The live forecast appears here automatically in the two weeks before the ride.

Typical conditions from Open-Meteo records for the same day in 2025. Check the live forecast on the morning.

Riding notes

  • The day starts with a gradual descent from the fort and through a forest. It is cool and may be dark, so lights on.
  • Road surfaces change quickly. Expect short sections of failed road all day, so keep your eyes up and call out holes.
  • Village markets get busy. Slow down, ride single file and expect people, cows and tractors to move unpredictably.
  • Fill both bottles at every stop. Only drink sealed bottled water.
  • Target finish 17.00. If you’re behind at the afternoon stop, the crew will ask you to take a lift.

The country you ride through

History on the road

0 to 20 km

Tijara Fort

Tijara Fort was begun in the 1830s by Balwant Singh, a ruler of the Alwar state, and left unfinished for well over a century. It was restored by the Neemrana hotel group and opened as a hotel in 2017. The hills you leave behind are the Aravallis, among the oldest fold mountains on Earth.

20 to 90 km

Mewat and the Haryana border

The first part of the day crosses Mewat, the historic home of the Meo people, before the route slips into Haryana and then Uttar Pradesh. This is brick kiln country: the tall chimneys among the fields fire bricks from the local clay.

90 to 176 km

Into the Doab

After crossing the Yamuna you enter the Doab, the flat, fertile land between the Yamuna and the Ganges. Aligarh is best known for Aligarh Muslim University, founded in 1875 by the reformer Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as a college modelled on Oxford and Cambridge. The city is also famous across India for its locks.

Look out for

  • The ramparts of Tijara Fort at first light
  • Brick kiln chimneys among the paddies
  • Village markets
  • The Yamuna crossing
  • Aligarh's university clock tower

Local heroes

Famous faces from along the route

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the founder of Aligarh Muslim University, is the great name of today's finish. Among its students were Liaquat Ali Khan, the first prime minister of Pakistan, and the Indian President Zakir Husain. India's cricket great Lala Amarnath, who scored India's first Test century in 1933, studied there too.

Call crew leader, Mel+44 7947 765600 Emergency112