NTY2011 is the year to get out and do it!
The Great Himalaya Trail is a challenging, long-distance trekking route through some of the most breathtaking mountain landscapes on earth. It is made up of a network of existing trails and trade routes that connect neglected valleys and ridges between and beyond the established trekking areas of Annapurna, Langtang, and Sagarmatha in Nepal. A major objective of the Great Himalaya Trail concept is to bring tourism benefits, protect the environment, and improve livelihoods in Nepal’s remote mountain communities, in line with NTY2011 and Nepal Government policy.
The longest and highest walking track in the world, the ultimate potential of the Great Himalaya Trail is a “Walk for Peace” linking six Asian countries of Pakistan, China (Tibet Autonomous Region), India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar, a route that covers more than 4,500 kilometers of the Great Himalaya Range. Its westernmost point is the world’s ninth highest peak, Nanga Parbat, in Pakistan. Winding past the sacred headwaters of the River Ganga in India, it traverses Nepal beneath the Annapurna, Sagarmatha, and Kanchanjunga mountain ranges, through Darjeeling and Sikkim in India, then Bhutan, and eventually to India’s Arunachal Pradesh, and then Myanmar, and finally ending at Namche Barwa in Tibet. Spectacular views include all of the world’s fourteen 8,000m peaks.
With geographically the most to gain, Nepal has 1,700km of the Great Himalaya Trail, spanning the entire length of the country from Darchula and Humla in the west to Kanchanjunga in the east. The high-altitude route offers adventure trekking, combining high-pass crossings, trans-Himalayan scenery, and alpine valleys. Only a limited number of experienced adventurers are likely to undertake this iconic high Trail. World Expeditions, adventure operators based in Australia, have sold the first full traverse of the high route, a pioneering 157-day trek that leaves Kathmandu in February 2011, commencing in the far eastern Kanchanjunga Conservation Area.
The lower, green Great Himalaya Trail for less extreme trekkers features an unrivalled diversity of scenery, peoples and cultures. This more benign route is the major focus for donors and development activities, led by DFID (UKAid), SNV Nepal (Netherlands) and others (www.thegreathimalayatrail.org), where the most needy mountain villages are located, and with the widest appeal to softer nature and culture visitor markets. This is the route favored by the planned NTY2011 Great Himalaya Trail celebrity trek with a range of sponsors and supporters led by WWF, using the power of international celebrities to promote trekking, conservation, rural livelihoods, and climate change issues in Nepal.
Divided into 10 sections, each stretch has its own characteristics of verdant valleys, agricultural settlements, mountain scenery, white peaks, wildlife, protected areas, or ancient Buddhist and Hindu cultures. These Great Himalaya Trail sections are designed to attract the greatest numbers of trekkers and tourists, both Nepali and foreign, who have only a few weeks for a holiday, encouraging repeat visits and interesting new circuits. Himalayan Map House has recently published the Great Himalaya Trail Nepal Route Planner, a big poster with 10 more detailed supporting section maps.
Nepal’s Great Himalaya Trail has generated considerable private-sector and media interest, led by MoTCA (Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Aviation), NTB (Nepal Tourism Board), TAAN (Trekking Agents’ Association Nepal) and NATO (Nepal Association of Tour Operators). Sections of the Trail are offered in trek and adventure operators’ brochures.
Robin Boustead has recently documented the route in detail, featuring the high route in a stunning Pictorial Guide, soon to be published as a trekking guide (Trailblazer Publications, 2011) and a website (www.greathimalayatrail.com). American trail runner Sean Burch ran its length in a record 49 days, finishing in October 2010, to help the people of Nepal, improving on Rosie Swales Pope’s time of 68 days in 2003. The Crane brothers first ran the Himalaya in 1983, and Peter Hillary led the first traverse in 1980.
The newly formed Great Himalaya Trail Alliance is an inclusive informal network of concerned private sector, trekking agents and development organizations with a common objective of helping the rural people of Nepal. Based on trust, the Great Himalaya Trail Alliance is starting with modest achievable activities that include international-standard training courses to professionalize trek staff, and community programs to help villagers start small businesses along the trail.
Giving a significant boost to Nepal’s tourism industry, the idea of the Great Himalaya Trail is to channel more tourists and pro-poor tourism investment to underdeveloped districts, stimulating a range of private sector business, employment and production opportunities for poor mountain communities, and providing links with Nepal-based and international tourism operators. Adventure activities, in addition to trekking and lodge development, respond to market demand and include biking, horse riding and upmarket fly-trek options using mountain airstrips. New and improved locally managed small and micro enterprises are likely to include lodges, campsites, visitor centers, local produce, handicrafts, porter organizations, and guide services to take visitors to monasteries, temples and village homes.
So, now you know how you can help, beginning with NTY2011: Go trek the Great Himalaya Trail!
Lisa Choegyal is a tourism specialist who works as a consultant on development programs throughout the Asia Pacific region, specializing in pro-poor sustainable tourism planning and marketing. Lisa was Team Leader of the ADB Ecotourism Project 2000-2001, DFID tourism specialist on TRPAP 2001-2005, tourism consultant for the ADB SASEC Programme 2004-2008, and has assisted SNV Nepal prepare the Great Himalaya Trail development.
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