From the Mediterranean to the Matterhorn

On a motorcycle called Multistrada, in search of a mountain found on the cover of a mouthwatering chocolate, via Milan

- VIKRAM CHAUDHARY

SOME JOURNEYS test your limits—physical & mental—but reward you with lifelong experiences.

One such is a road trip from the warm Mediterranean to freezing Alps—elevation change of about 4,000 metres, and temperature difference of about 40 degrees Celsius, in just a matter of four hours.

If done on a motorcycle, it can be physically gruelling, mentally exhausting, but blissfully enlightening—as I realised riding the Ducati Multistrada V4 Rally here.

Why Italy?

It's one of the few places in the world where snowcapped mountains are within touching distance of deep blue sea. My journey started by picking up the Multistrada from Bologna (Ducati factory) and riding to Portofino (Mediterranean coast).

Why Portofino?

It's a village so picturesque that Microsoft has chosen it as a Windows desktop wallpaper.

The route takes you to Genoa—once the world's most powerful shipping centre, and the birthplace of Christopher Columbus—before turning north. Although you can directly head to the Alps, it's suggested to make a stopover in Milan.