Nepal Trekking and the Great Himalaya Trail

The three main trekking regions, Everest, Annapurna and Langtang attract tens of thousands of trekkers every year. Facilities have never been better and easily rival those found in Europe. Trails are well maintained and safe, and the locals will welcome you with genuine friendliness that will make your heart melt. The other two-thirds of Nepal's mountain terrain is normally considered 'off-the-beaten-track'. From the lush rhododendron forests of the east to the dense woodlands of the west there is wilderness and remote communities that have remained relatively untouched. In 2002, the Nepali government reconciled all border disputes with its northern neighbor China. This de-militarized seven border areas and for the first time in over fifty years tourists were allowed to explore them. All of these areas offer unique trekking opportunities, as many resemble the now popular regions as they were thirty or more years ago. They also tend to be next to the major trekking routes so it's possible to design itineraries combining old and new routes thus making your holiday a more 'complete' Nepali experience. One of the great trekking 'holy grails' has been a potential route, through the remotest peaks of the entire Himalaya, which joins all the major trekking regions. The author is the first to person to survey, plot and describe such a route, which is called the Great Himalaya Trail (GHT). The Nepal section of the GHT would take about 160 days of continuous walking so it is broken into sections for convenience.