Immerse yourself in cultures little changed by the modern world and be inspired by the greatest mountain scenery on the planet.
The Himalaya is amazing; a place where you can immerse yourself in authentic cultures and be inspired by the greatest mountain scenery on the planet. Since the early 1950s, visitors have explored the countless valleys and peaks of the pahar (mid-hills) and himal (high ranges) of Nepal, India and Bhutan.
Everest, Annapurna and Langtang
The most popular trekking regions of the entire Himalaya are, Everest, Annapurna and Langtang, which attract tens of thousands of trekkers every year. Facilities have never been better and easily rival those found in Europe or elsewhere. There are even some luxury lodges in the Everest and Annapurna should you want a touch of comfort! Trails are well maintained and safe, and the locals will welcome you with a genuine friendliness that will make your heart melt.
The other two-thirds of Nepal’s mountain terrain is normally considered ‘off-the-beaten-track’ and counts visitors in mere hundreds. From the lush rhododendron forests of the east to the dense woodlands in the west, the Nepal Himalaya is predominantly wilderness dotted with remote communities that have remained relatively untouched. In these regions, a small trekking group can make a real difference to lives that are barely subsistence.
Although the mountains are beyond compare, it is the people you meet along the trail that linger in your memory. You can’t help but admire their indefatigable boldness and energy, and independence, strength and resilience when times are bad. Their fun, openhearted, generous nature towards strangers who may never return will constantly amaze! It’s impossible to make a comparison, but surely the people of the high himal are the very best of mankind?
In 2002, the Nepali government reconciled all border disputes with its northern neighbour China thus de-militarising seven border areas. For the first-time in history tourists were allowed to explore them and they all offer unique trekking opportunities. They also tend to be next to the major trekking routes, so it’s possible to design itineraries combining old and new trails, thus making your journey a more ‘complete’ Nepali experience.
The GHT is Born
Throughout the 1990s, one of the great trekking ‘holy grails’ was a route through the remotest peaks of the entire Himalaya, linking all the main trekking regions. Trekkers dreamed of it, development agencies theorised about it, but until someone actually walked and documented it, it was to remain only a dream.
In 2002, the Nepal and Chinese governments agreed their mutual border, which had always been sensitive. From 2003, during the height of the Nepal Civil War, Robin Boustead researched 9 mountain regions that were newly opened to tourism. In 2008-11, he became the first person to trek the highest feasible route (at the time) across Nepal, and then go on to survey, plot and describe routes across Bhutan and India Himalaya and so created the Great Himalaya Trail (GHT) as we know it today.
The Nepal section became famous when Robin’s work was published by Trailblazer Publications and a series of his maps published by Map House made it to the BBC Worldwide news. The Nepal section of the GHT can take from 50 to 150 days of walking or running, so it is conveniently broken into sections. Since then, Robin has trekked multiple times back and forth over all the major trekking routes in Nepal to create a network of trails with easy access and lower route alternatives through the pahar (mid-hills) where possible.
The introduction of new trekking routes through remote communities has encouraged micro-tourism businesses in places that were too remote for intensive infrastructure development. By creating value in regions that had previously had little to offer for tourism, communities are able to improve their quality of life and nature is valued beyond a ‘natural resource asset’.
Robin’s long term goal for the GHT is to encourage relevant governments to establish a comprehensive network of National Parks and Conservation Areas that form a continuous corridor for animal migration, which could reduce illegal hunting and help save many endangered species. The snow-covered crown of Asia may then become one of its greatest advantages.
Who is Robin Boustead?
Robin first fell in love with the Himalaya in 1993 and has returned every year since. With a group of friends, they dreamt of developing the most challenging trek in the world along the entire Himalaya. This became known as the Great Himalaya Trail (GHT). Robin began researching new trekking routes that link each of the himals in 2002. He has completed high traverses of the Indian, Bhutanese and Nepal Himalayan ranges as well as dozens of shorter treks.
Each year, Robin heads back to the Himalaya to research new trails and confirm established routes… this website, the GHT routes, maps and trail notes are largely his work and supplemented by a team of dedicated trekkers who often trek discretely and prefer to stay behind the scenes.
Early GHT History
At the time, the eastern ranges through Bhutan and Tibet were closed, so attempts could only start in Sikkim, an autonomous region of India. In 1980, Harish Kohli lead an Indian Army team who operated in relay, traversed an undocumented route from Sikkim to Ladakh. However, the first unbroken Himalayan traverse was by Peter Hillary (son of Sir Edmund), Graeme Dingle and S. P. Chamoli in 1981, which was fully documented in ‘First Across the Roof of the World’. Their story is a true mountain epic that began at Kanchenjunga, on the border of Nepal and Sikkim and ended in Concordia at the base camp of K2.
A nine-month trek over 1981-82 saw Hugh Swift and Arlene Blum complete a traverse from Bhutan to Ladakh in India (Blum documented her story in ‘Breaking Trail’). In 1983, the Crane brothers (Adrian and Richard) ran 3200km (2000 miles) from Darjeeling (Sikkim) to Pakistan, thus setting a record, which has yet to be broken (the Crane’s story, ‘Running the Himalayas’). This was to remain the longest attempt until 1990, when Sorrell Wilby and her husband Chris Ciantar, made a traverse from Pakistan to Arunchal Pradesh (northern Assam in India), which included nearly every Himalayan region (documented in Wilby’s book, ‘Across the Top’). In 1994, the French duo of Paul-Eric Bonneau and Bruno Poirier crossed the Nepal Himalaya in 42 days (October 21 – December 1, 1994) from Pashupatinagar to Mahakali (see their book, ‘Trans-Nepal-Himalaya’). Then in 1997, two Frenchmen, Alexandre Poussin and Sylvain Tesson, embarked on an epic adventure along the Himalaya (Bhutan to Tajikistan) that involved getting arrested in three countries – Tibet, Pakistan and Tajikistan. Their journey (published as ‘La Marche dans le Ciel’) really pushed the boundaries of what was considered to be ‘Himalayan’.
The introduction of new trekking routes through remote communities has encouraged micro-tourism businesses in places that were too remote for intensive infrastructure development. By creating value in regions that had previously had little to offer for tourism, communities are able to improve their quality of life and nature is valued beyond a ‘natural resource asset’.
Robin’s long term goal for the GHT is to encourage relevant governments to establish a comprehensive network of National Parks and Conservation Areas that form a continuous corridor for animal migration, which could reduce illegal hunting and help save many endangered species. The snow-covered crown of Asia may then become one of its greatest advantages.
The GHT Today
Since 1997, there were many attempts to traverse the Himalaya by walking, running and biking, but all of these expeditions suffered from restrictions on where they could visit. Closed and restricted areas meant trekkers often had to detour to the pahar, away from the Great Himalaya Range. Even Nepal, perhaps the most accessible of the countries, had strict ‘no-go’ areas along the border with Tibet. In 2002, things changed and Nepal opened every one of her himals to permit-based trekking. Along with new trekking areas in Bhutan and India, the Great Himalaya Range was completely opened to trekkers for the first time in history.
The first person to take advantage of some of newly opening regions of Nepal was Rosie Swale-Pope, who ran across Nepal in 2003. Her 1700km pahar (mid-hills) route from Taplejung to Simikot was an early precursor to the current Great Himalaya Trail concept. Dr Gillian Holdsworth walked a similar route in 2007, which is documented on the British Nepal Medical Trust website.
From early 2004, Robin Boustead systematically researched and documented each of the newly opened trekking regions over four years, culminating in a 162-day high traverse of Nepal’s himals from September 2008 to July 2009. His trek was the first crossing to link every himal and thus created the Nepal GHT. He then went on through 2010-11 to become the first person to cross the high mountains in Bhutan, and then connected previous routes across the entire Indian Himalaya. He has published maps and books of trekking routes in Nepal, India and Bhutan.
Between 2008 and 2011, Jean-Claude Latombe walked across Nepal in two sections of 56 and 53 days and his website has a wonderful collage of images of the people and landscapes he encountered. From then until 2018, there have been about one hundred documented high traverses of the Nepal Himalaya and many hundreds of trekkers have completed regional sections.
GHT Community
EXPLORE. IMMERSE. CHALLANGE. TRANSFORM.
Everyone who treks a GHT ‘end-to-end’ says it transforms them… changes them on the inside and often changes their life direction. There can be few journeys in life that can so profoundly affect you, and have the potential to transform your perspectives – on yourself, the communities you live in and the world around you.
This means that the end-to-end club, that is, those folks who have walked from border to border across a Himalayan country, share something very special. You might only bump into them once in your life, but you immediately have something profound in common with each other.
Hanging out with locals in Laya, Bhutan
GHT End-to-Enders
Consult and share stories with the trekkers, guides, porters, tea house families who create and share their lives every day! We want to see the GHT End-to-End ‘club’ grow. For more people to experience what we believe is so simple and wonderful: to explore, immerse, challenge and transform yourself into a GHTer. To help inspire your GHT plans every GHTer is happy to answer questions and share their stories and help you along the path to begin your GHT!
The GHTers
The GHT attracts long-distance hikers from around the world, and the stats show it!
There are 100+ trekkers who have registered as hiking across Nepal from border to border, and a further 40+ had been within a whisker of success!
Since 2009, the numbers of GHTers has been growing each year. We’re hoping that the GHT, at least in Nepal, will become as popular as climbing Mt Everest!
If you’ve trekked the GHT in Nepal, India or Bhutan, then please let us know! If you’d like to submit your details to the GHT registry, then please contact us or Himalayan Adventure Labs (info@himalayanadventurelabs.com) with a brief outline of your route, trekking times, details of those who completed the trek, and a GPS file if you have one!
