Guwahati: Motorcycle manufacturer Royal Enfield flagged off Tour of the North East, the region's first marquee ride, on Saturday morning.

Twenty riders from Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai and other cities rode off on their Royal Enfield motorcycles towards Shillong on a 10-day trip across Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. The team includes four women, including one from Assam.

The route will take the riders from Guwahati to Shillong and Cherrapunji in Meghalaya through Dima Hasao in Assam to Mokokchung in Nagaland, back via Golaghat, Kaziranga and Tezpur (Assam), onwards to Bhalukpung, Bomdila, Tawang and Bumla Pass (Arunachal Pradesh), before turning back through the north bank of the Brahmaputra to Guwahati.

The company's Guwahati retail excellence manager Mantu Medhi said, "We had 20 slots for riders which were filled up within 40 hours after it was announced online.We will organise a bigger event next year and turn it into an annual event."