Great Himalayan Trail: World’s Highest and Most Epic trek in Number
The Great Himalaya Trail, often described as a “trekking’s holy grail”, returned in 2018 for its seventh anniversary.
It is the longest and highest alpine walking track in the world winding through the tallest mountain ranges and most isolated communities from Tibet to Pakistan. In 2011 we offered the mountain walking expedition of the Nepal section of the Great Himalaya Trail in its entirety for the first time. Since then it’s been running each year and in 2018 we returned to this epic trek.
Available exclusively through World Expeditions, here is the lowdown of what makes The Great Himalaya Trail – The Full Nepal Traverse so special:
1,700
kilometres is the length of the Full Nepal Traverse, from Mount Kanchenjunga in the east to Yari Valley in the west
152
days of walking is what it takes to complete the Full Nepal Traverse
2011
was the year that World Expeditions offered the complete Trail for the first time
38,990
NZD is what it will cost you if you want to do the Full Traverse of Nepal
6,190
metres above sea level is the highest part of the Trail you will trek
8
peaks of more than 8,000m are what you’ll get to see along the way
18
days is what it takes to complete the smallest section of the Great Himalaya Trail; if you do not have 152 days to spare, the Trail can be broken into seven parts, which can be joined separately
13
people have completed the Trail since it was commercially launched in 2011 – that is just one more than the number of people who have walked on the moon (12)
6
people had signed up for the full 152-day traverse in 2016
25
February is the date the Great Himalaya Trail kicks off in 2019
1
tour operator in the world offers this unique experience: The Great Himalaya Trail – The Full Nepal Traverse is available exclusively through adventure holiday specialist World Expeditions
The Nepal section of the Great Himalaya Trail offers a kaleidoscope of experiences. The landscape is defined by lush rhododendron and temperate forest, glaciated passes, high arid plateaus scarred by deep canyons, and the largest lake in Nepal, Rara. The people of remote mountain villages of Tamang, Sherpa, and Gurung are very curious and hospitable to welcome the very few strangers that have made it to their settlements in the mountains.
The Trail is a fantastic way of sharing the benefit of tourism dollars with isolated mountain communities that currently receive little to no income from this source. Trip gradings for the trail range from 7 to 9 with a duration of 18 to 34 days and of course the ultimate 152-day traverse. So why not challenge yourself in 2019 and experience this challenging and at the same time rewarding trek. There has yet to be a Kiwi complete the Full Traverse. Is it going to be you?