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Nepal’s Great Himalayan Trail runs 1,750km journey across the entire country and passes over some of the highest trekking passes in the world. Here in Part II, we examine the route and hear from those who have completed the GHT. You can check out Part I here.
The Great Himalayan Trail. Hikers almost always go east to west.
Rolwaling
Tashi Labsta (5,760m) is quite technical and can require fixing ropes. Rockfall can be a problem here. Like Sherpani Col, weather and snow/ice conditions might require a flexible schedule. World Expeditions takes two days on the approach to assess the weather and camp high (5,665m) before the crossing. The pass is close to Thame, roughly 10km away, but 2,500m above the village!
Route finding on both the approach and the pass can be tricky if there’s snow. The “glaciers on the eastern side of the pass are hazardous and crevassed,” Boustead explains on his GHT website. Boustead also notes that food can be hard to come by in Rolwaling, so independent hikers should stock up before the pass.
Hiking glacial moraine in Rolwaling. Photo: Heather Hawkins
After the saddle, most trekkers descend to the Trakarding Glacier for a cold night’s camping. Jasmine Star, who hiked half the GHT in 2016 and the other half in 2019, described the descent as the most challenging section.
“It’s hard on the way down,” she says. “There are some immense boulder fields after the pass. They go on for like a day, day and a half before you reach a proper trail again.”
The next five to seven days are more relaxed, following rivers and meandering through remote villages in Rolwaling. This section of the GHT finishes at Sano Jynamdan.
Langtang and Ruby Valley
The trail then winds through the villages of Listi, Bagam, Kyangsin, and Dipu. This section is “Nepali flat,” meaning undulating without any big climbs. Then, it’s back to ascending, with a 1,000m+ elevation gain to Kharka and then another 500m to Panch Pokhari at 4,074m.
After a couple more days of gradual ascent, there’s the first high pass in some time. Tilman’s Pass (5,308m) involves some scrambling, and loose rock may cause problems, but it should be doable in a day.
A porter crosses a bridge in Langtang. Photo: Heather Hawkins
After a night camping just below the pass, the route joins the main Langtang Trail. This means teahouses, relative luxury, and a well-trodden, clearly marked trail. Depending on fitness, speed, and weather conditions so far, hikers can expect to be between 60 and 80 days into the GHT at this point, a little over halfway through.
The next few days are known as the Ganesh link of the GHT, connecting Langtang to the Manaslu and Annapurna regions.
Manaslu and Annapurna
The trail now drops like a stone to 1,503m at the small village of Syabru Besi. The next few days follow a similar pattern. The trail climbs to ridgelines and then descends into valleys and basins (later dipping even lower to 970m), with small villages scattered along the route. This area is the Ruby Valley.
Over several days, you gain altitude again, culminating in a crossing of Larkye La at 5,140m. Along the way, you skirt the edge of the Kutang Himal, a natural barrier that marks the border between Nepal and Tibet. With more elevation, there’s also the return of mountain panoramas, with views of Himalchuli (7,893m), Peak 29 (7,871m), and Manaslu (8,163m). In clear weather, there are good views of Annapurna II (7,937m) from Larkye La.
Manaslu. Photo: Heather Hawkins
The trail follows the Marsyangdi River downstream, descending quickly. Leaving Manaslu behind, you enter the Annapurna region. The Annapurna circuit is popular, and the trail is clear, with plenty of places to stay along the route.
You gain altitude again toward Thorong La (5,416m), the highest point in the 300km Annapurna circuit. This pass is a long, arduous day. Tour companies offering Annapurna Circuit treks usually list it as the longest day, with a pre-dawn start to avoid the notorious Thorong winds and 9 to 12 hours of hiking required. It’s not technical, but a long, gradual slog, with several false summits and then a 1,500m descent to Muktinath.
With the Annapurna range now behind you, it’s on to Dolpo.
Dolpo
The Dolpo-pa, a semi-nomadic ethnic group of Tibetan descent, inhabit 24 villages in this region. It’s a remote, rugged bit of the Himalaya with few trees, but the trail is mostly well-marked.
“The GHT provides many variations of ethnicities, religions, and cultures, but the Far West is particularly different,” guide Bir Singh Gurung explained. “Dolpo has its own pre-Buddhist beliefs, such as Animism (Bon) religion and pure Tibetan culture.”
Gurung has guided in the Nepalese Himalaya since 1999. He said this was his favorite section of the GHT “because of its remoteness, the wilderness, rich culture, and the landscapes.”
Near Chharka Bhot, Dolpo region. Photo: Jasmine Star
After Muktinath, the trail leads to Kharka, before two sub-5,000m passes bring you to the village of Santa. Another day or two takes you to Lalinawar Khola (river), at the base of 5,550m Jungben La, with great views of Hidden Valley and Dhaulagiri, and 5,120m Niwas La. After quite a few days at lower altitudes, these passes can prove challenging, but both can be completed in around seven hours at a steady pace.
After the passes, the trail descends to another river, Chharka Tulsi Khola. The path flicks between the two sides of the river as you move up the valley. Another high pass rears up ahead, Chan La (5,378m), but it has an easy gradient and is not technical.
Descending to the trading village of Dho Tarap, the trail soon climbs again to Jyanta La (5,100m) en route to Saldang, the administrative center for Upper Dolpo. From there, it’s an easy day to Shey Gompa, an 11th-century Buddhist monastery.
The next two days follow the trail across 5,350m Nagdala Pass to the famously beautiful Phoksundo Lake.
A campsite by Phoksundo Lake. Photo: Jasmine Star
The Far West: Rara Lake & Yari Valley
From Phoksundo Lake, you enter Nepal’s Far West, the least visited region in the country and the final segment of the GHT.
Crossing Kagmara La (5,115m) is a long, two-day effort, but the next five or six days are fairly easy. The trail drops and winds through a few villages on the way to Rara National Park and Rara Lake, the largest lake in Nepal.
Rara Lake. Photo: Heather Hawkins
Depending on your pace (and your start date), the monsoon rains could begin around this time. If so, expect heavy deluges, muddy boots, and leeches.
From Rara Lake, there are two GHT options: From Gamgadhi to Simikot and the Yari Valley, or cross-country to Kolti and Chainpur and on to the Mahakali Nadi River in India. World Expeditions elects to take clients on the Gamgadhi to Simikot and Yari option because “this route travels closer to the center of the Great Himalaya Range.” But independent trekkers will find either route interesting and little visited.
Assuming you take the “upper” route, you leave Rara Lake for Karnali. Following a familiar pattern for the next week, you climb over ridges and then descend into basins and valleys, never surpassing 4,000m and sometimes dropping below 2,000m. At Shinjungma, the main trail branches away, heading further north toward the border with Tibet. It eventually finishes at the town of Hilsa.
Yari Valley. Photo: Heather Hawkins
How long does it take?
Finishing times vary considerably. The Great Himalaya Trail website suggests 120-140 days, World Expeditions schedules 150 days (including getting to and from start and end points), and some speedy independent travelers knock it over in around 100 days.
Difficulty, fitness, and training
World Expeditions rates the GHT a 9/10 on their difficulty scale (the highest rating of any of their trekks), grading it as an intermediate mountaineering expedition. While they don’t require mountaineering knowledge, they do check fitness levels and previous hiking experience when people wish to sign up.
Heather Hawkins completed the GHT (guided and supported by World Expeditions) with her adult children. Heather is a marathon runner, and she describes the whole family as having a good fitness foundation, with plenty of hiking and bushwalking under their belts. Only her son had climbing experience, but the tour company provided training with jumars, crampons, and using fixed ropes before they hit stage two of the GHT and the high, technical passes.
“We were with climbing sherpas, and I felt very safe and well looked after,” Hawkins said.
Likewise, Jasmine Star (also guided and supported) had great base fitness before taking on the GHT. She had previously finished Bhutan’s famous Snowman Trek and had some mountaineering experience. Star managed a mountaineering lodge on Mount Hood in the 1990s and had previously climbed Mount Rainier.
“The eastern half is very hard because of all the snow,” Star said. “Sleeping, walking in snow, snow on high passes. It’s draining. The West is easier. We had three people start on the full traverse [from east to west], and one asked to be evacuated by helicopter after 27 days, which was very tricky. Different people joined for various sections of the traverse, including six people for stage two. Some suffered altitude sickness and quit to hike out to Lukla after Amphu Labsta.”
Sunrise over Everest. Photo: Martin Walsh
Stage two (Makalu & Everest) is the consensus crux of the route. Professional guide Soren Kruse-Ledet trekked most of the route in 1998, but from Mount Kailash in Tibet to Kangchenjunga in Eastern Nepal, and now guides sections of the GHT.
“Stage two is the most challenging as it includes Sherpani Col and West Col,” Kruse-Ledet said. “Both of them are over 6,100m, plus an additional three passes over 5,000m. It’s high altitude, remote, and technical.”
He went on: “I have had situations where clients or staff have experienced altitude sickness, which can have quite a sudden onset. We’re trained and prepared to manage these situations, but we are keenly aware of the risks. But, while challenging, it is also exceptionally beautiful. You experience views of Everest and Makalu in a part of the Himalaya that doesn’t see many other travelers.”
Kruse-Ledet doesn’t think the GHT is beyond most fit, outdoor people.
“I think it’s challenging because of the length of time that you’re on the route. The difficulty is not necessarily the physical aspect but the psychological challenge of having to walk nearly every day for five months. Overall, I would describe this as a difficult trek for committed and experienced walkers.”
Guide Bir Singh Gurung concurs: “Mental and physical fitness is necessary. Socially [it is different], it is a diet you are not familiar with, and comfort levels are different. You need great willpower and determination. Experienced trekkers with basic mountaineering skills are ideal.”
Descending West Col. Photo: Jasmine Star
Vince Gayman completed the GHT guided and supported in 2018.
“I had limited mountaineering experience,” Gayman said. “I had done some glacier travel with crampons and had climbed a couple of our local peaks with ropes and an ice axe, but nothing very extensive. For someone with no experience and traveling without guides, [stage two] would be VERY challenging.”
Independent vs. guided
There are several things to consider when choosing between independent and guided GHT hikes. The first may be cost.
Boustead estimates costs for independent trekkers as follows:
Go solo as much as possible: $13,500
Twin-share with minimum guiding: $7,250 per person
Solo “as much as possible” is key. Restricted Area Permits (RAPs) are required for some areas. These are for a minimum of two foreigners (making a true solo journey considerably more expensive) and require a local guide. Those completely adverse to a guide reportedly hire one to pass certain checkpoints and then release them in between. Please note that we are not advising people to do this.
At the time of writing, RAPs are required for 15 areas of Nepal: Upper Mustang, Upper Dolpo, Lower Dolpo, Tsum Valley, Manaslu Areas, Gosaikunda Municipality, Nar and Phu Trek, Khumbu Pasang Lahmu Rural Municipality Ward Five, Humla, Taplejung, Dolakha, Darchula, Sankhuwasabha, Bajhang, and Mugu.
Guided tours are, of course, much more expensive. Tour companies charge $25,000-$30,000 for a fully supported traverse (including guides, porters, accommodation, food, permits, and transport to and from the GHT).
Guided groups on the GHT usually have guides, porters, and a cook. Photo: Martin Walsh
Other things to consider include how much gear you want to/can carry, your tolerance for complex logistical planning (where to stay, how much money to carry, what permits you need, etc.), your desired pace, your fitness/alpine experience, and your route-finding abilities, particularly on the high passes and if the weather is poor.
Pace might seem a minor consideration, but larger groups move much slower, and for the speediest independent hikers, even a single guide can prove a drag.
“Some of the high passes require a fixed rope for safety,” Gayman explained. “This makes for slow going, especially with a large team carrying lots of gear. Needless to say, there is quite a bit of stop-and-go to keep everyone safe. For us, the weather was amazingly good and the views spectacular, so the pace wasn’t a problem.
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