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February 2, 2012 Tsum Valley Festival → "As mentioned in the article (at the top) it was cancelled due to ill health. They're working on the same for this year. ..."
February 2, 2012 Interview with GHT Hiker Shawn Forry → "Fabulous and inspiring trek! If one adds the Pakistan portion of the GHT, I wonder how many more miles/kms they would ha..."
January 24, 2012 Tsum Valley Festival → "So, how did the Tsum Valley festival go? I would like to know what all happened there too. Do they conduct such festival..."
January 23, 2012 Great Himalaya Trail Calendar 2012 → "Very nice, but can I download this in high resolution? Is it possible to get printed copies and if so, where? Thanks!..."
January 22, 2012 Request for Proposal → "am secretary of Alpine club of Azad kashmir pakistan.we trying to make a proposal of defrent places of our mountain site..."
January 10, 2012 GHT_Republica_30th Dec → "Sorry about my last comment. I think I was still asleep when I posted it because I did the math wrong. Of course that'..."
Jerome Gublin, a professional French photograper, has just returned from a trek to Kanchenjunga Base Camp. He says:
“The walk to the two base camps of Nepali side of Kanchenjunga is like a 3 weeks circus where a new sideshow would be played every day.
The uniqueness of this trek, not to mention the usual diversity of cultures and scenery of nepali walks, lies in its “high mountain” nature : more than a week is spent over 12.000 feet with the perpetual sensation of being at the foot of these giants ; because there is not only Kanchenjunga over there : Jannu (25.300 ft), the Kabru range (24.315 ft), Rathong (21.925 ft), Jhingsang (24.480 ft), Nepal peak (23.545 ft), Pathibara ( 23.425 ft) , and I even don’t mention the dozen of 20.000 feet’. This is also one of the wildest walk into the most remote corner of Nepal.
The journey asks some kind of planning as Suketar – the small airport where the walk usually starts and ends – is actually renovated; it should reopens for the 2012 trekking season.
Kanchenjunga can be made as a tea house trek ( I did ) but I need to warn trekkers that it will be very, very basic. For many it would be better to do it as a camping trek. Even if you do a teahouse trek, you need to bring a tent and cooking stove for “just in case”. But please go and visit this hidden jewel of Himalaya, take a lot of memory cards!”
In coordination with Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN) 5 new trekking trails have been developed and mapped in Lower Solukhumbu. In contrast with Upper Solukhumbu/the Everest Region, Lower Solukhumbu is still unexplored by tourists. It is a hidden gem, with its beautiful landscapes with snowcapped mountains on the background and its authentic villages and beautiful gompas. The trails easily connect with the Everest region.
In Lower Solukhumbu 5 trekking trails have recently been mapped and documented:
1. Salpa- Silicho- Panchpokhari Eco Trail (15 days).
2. Pikey – Pattale Community Based Cultural Trail (7 days).
3. Halesi – Salpa –Adventure and Cultural Trail (12 days).
4. Buddhist Monastery Circuit trail (7-21 days).
5. Pokali – Pikey – Everest Adventure Trail (12 days).
1. Salpa – Silicho – Pachpokhari Eco Trail
Day
Destination
Mode of Transport
Day 1
Kathmandu – Phaplu – Budhidanda
By Air/Trekking
Day 2
Budhidanda – Wadda – Kurima
Trekking
Day 3
Kurima – Chitre
Trekking
Day 4
Chitre – Dharma Peak – Ghyangkharka
Trekking
Day 5
Ghyangkharka – Runadanda
Trekking
Day 6
Runadanda – Salpa (Accalimatization)
Trekking
Day 7
Salpa – Silicho – Sanam – Gudel
Trekking
Day 8
Gudel – Khiraule
Trekking
Day 9
Khiraule – Cholemkharka
Trekking
Day 10
Cholemkharka – Panchpokhari
Trekking
Day 11
Panchpokhari – Cherem
Trekking
Day 12
Cherem – Pangom – Kharikhola
Trekking
Day 13
Kharikhola – Lukla
Trekking
Day 14
Lukla – Kathmandu
By Air (Option 1 Exit)
Day 13
Kharikhola – Taksindu (Nunthala)
Trekking
Day 14
Tanksindu – Phaplu
Trekking
Day 15
Phaplu – Kathmandu
By Air (Option 2 Exit)
2. Pikey – Pattale Community Based Cultural Trail
Day
Destination
Mode of Transport
Day 1
Kathmandu – Phaplu – Pikey
By Air/Trekking
Day 2
Pikey – Jhapre
Trekking
Day 3
Jhapre – Ghunsa
Trekking
Day 4
Ghunsa – Pattale
Trekking (Day Rest)
Day 5
Pattale – Gairi
Trekking
Day 6
Gairi – Rumjatar (Gurung Village)
Trekking
Day 7
Rumjatar – Kathmandu
By Air (Option 1 Exit)
Day 6
Gairi – Necha – Budhidanda
Trekking
Day 7
Budhidanda – Kathmandu
By Air (Option 2 Exit)
3. Halesi – Salpa – Adventure and Cultural Trail
Day
Destination
Mode of Transport
Day 1
Kathmandu
By Air
Day 2
Lamidada – Tapkhola
Trekking
Day 3
Tapkhola – Holy Lake Bane
Trekking
Day 4
Holy Lake Bane
Rest
Day 5
Bane – Sewa
Trekking
Day 6
Sewa – Salpa Bhanjyang
Trekking
Day 7
Salpa Lake
Day Rest & Hiking to Silicho Peak
Day 8
Salpa – Sotang
Trekking
Day 9
Sotang – Nele Bazar
Trekking
Day 10
Nele – Necha Bazat
Trekking
Day 11
Necha Bazar – Rumjatar
Trekking
Day 12
Rumjatar – Kathmandu
By Air
4. Buddhist Monastery Circuit Trail (7 – 21 days)
Day
Destination
Mode of Transport
Day 1
Kathmandu – Lamidanda – Halesi
By Air/Bus
Day 2
Halesi – Day Rest
Hiking
Day 3
Halesi – Kharpa
Trekking
Day 4
Kharpa – Demre
Trekking
Day 5
Dumre – Harise
Trekking
Day 6
Harise – Bagor Kurima
Trekking
Day 7
Kurima – Mude – Chitre
Trekking
Day 8
Chitre – Dhodre – Dimbul
Trekking
Day 9
Dimbul – Birkum (Day Rest)
Trekking
Day 10
Nirkum – Shyare (Nimchola)
Trekking
Day 11
Syare – Bung
Trekking
Day 12
Bung – Khiraule
Trekking
Day 13
Khiraule – Cherem
Trekking
Day 14
Cherem – Pangom – Kharikhola
Trekking
Day 15
Kharikhola – Takshindu
Trekking
Day 16
Takshindu – Ringmo – Thuptenchholing
Trekking
Day 17
Thuptenchholing – Junbesi – Phaplu
Trekking (Option 1 Exit/Option 3 entry)
Day 18
Phaplu – Pikey – Ngwar
Trekking
Day 19
Ngwar – Kilkurdding Gompa
Trekking
Day 20
Kilkurdding Gompa – Tolu Gomba
Trekking
Day 21
Tolu Gompa – Patale
Trekking
Day 22
Patale – Rumjatar
Trekking
Day 23
Rumjatar – Kathmandu
By air (Option 2 Exit)
5. Pokali – Pikey – Everest Adventure Trail
Day
Destination
Mode of Transport
Day 1
Kathmandu – Dhare – Pokali
By Bus
Day 2
Pokali – Phatale
Trekking
Day 3
Phatale – Khijiphalate
Trekking
Day 4
Khijiphalate – Kilkurdding
Trekking
Day 5
Kilkurdding – Taklung
Trekking
Day 6
Taklung – Pikey Peak
Trekking
Day 7
Pikey Peak I Suke Pokhari
Trekking
Day 8
Suke Pokhari – Densa Gompa – Loding
Trekking
Day 9
Londing – Phaplu
Trekking
Day 10
Phaplu – Kathmandu
By Air (Option 1 Exit)
Day 7
Pikey Peak – Lamjura La
Trekking
Day 8
Lamjura – Junbesi
Trekking
Day 9
Junbesi – Taksindu
Trekking
Day 10
Taksindu – Kharikhola
Trekking
Day 11
Kharikhola – Lukla
Trekking
Day 12
Lukla – Kathmandu
By air (Option 2 Exit)
Maps of these trails have been prepared by Nepa Maps and are available in the map stores in Nepal (NE513 and NE514).
After almost three weeks of preparation with the different routes, itinerary, flights, rentals, budgeting and convincing parents that although the route to Rara lake is less traveled, it is safe, I, along with three other friends, headed towards Rara Lake this October. MORE
This February, as Shawn Forry and Justin Lichter, and the team from World Expeditions were all making entries in the Great Himalaya Trail history books, one young man from Syabru Besi – the village at the beginning of the Langtang Trek – was making his own Great Himalaya Trail adventure, starting on his 20th birthday.
The inspiration for Sunil Tamang‘s adventures is close at hand. His father has worked in tourism for the last 20 years, firstly as a porter, and more recently as a trekking guide, and Sunil remembers as a young boy him telling stories from the trails.
The stories left a lasting impression, enough to motivate Sunil to walk for 128 days, alone, with an impossibly heavy pack from the east of Nepal, the Kanchenjunga region, to the Rara Lake in West Nepal. But he has a history of dogged determination. When he was a boy in Syabru, seeing that some trekkers had taken it upon themselves to sponsor children in the schooling, he kept on asking passing tourists if they would sponsor him. Someone finally said yes, and now more than a decade on, he’s passed all his exams with flying colours, won a scholarship to one of Kathmandu’s best colleges and there finished in the top few of his class.
Earlier this year, freshly returned from his adventure, we asked Sunil some questions about him and his trek.
Why did you decide to do this trek? You called it Trek for Change.
“I wanted to promote the spirit of adventure among young people. In Kathmandu there are sometimes problems with youngsters with drugs, smoking, alcohol and so on. I wanted to do something to inspire other youths, those who lack confidence and are unsure of themselves.
“For the trek I needed strong willpower, confidence, patience, determination and I wanted to show others they can do it too. Sometimes I ran out of money but had to keep going, I said to myself, ‘You can do it! You can achieve it!’”
You ran out of money? How did you fund the adventure? Were you sponsored?
“Getting sponsorship was difficult – sponsors were unconvinced as I am so young! They didn’t think I could do it and that it would be too much of a risk. But I email friends from the past treks I’d been on and from their generosity I managed to get the equipment I needed. The food I managed myself – almost!
“I didn’t always have money for food so I brought an article from the Annapurna Post that I was covered in and a letter of recommendation from my village. In that way I got free food and lodging at army posts and monasteries. In tourist areas, tourists also were generous me with food when I told them my story.”
Where did you walk on your trek and which were your favourite places?
“Rara and Dolpa were both amazing with very few people and it felt really unexplored. Phoksumdo lake was simply amazing. Every area had its own uniqueness though.”
Did people believe you were a tourist?
“Almost whole trip, people thought I was Japanese or Korean. I even had to show my citizenship card. But when people discovered I was Nepali, they greeted me warmly. I speak Tibetan so was easy to communicate in Dolpa and Mustang.”
What was the most adventurous part of your trip?
“Well I tried to cross the Tashi Labsta pass alone with a 35kg rucksack. I thought as the Great Himalaya Trail was a trekking route that it would be easier than it was. It wasn’t easy. I had an ice axe but no crampons.
“I started at 3am from Thengbo and followed a French couple with two Sherpa mountain guides in the distance.
“Near the top, I saw a big glacier, and they were climbing it. It was, of course, very icy. When I reached it I slipped at the top and fell down 3m and my rucksack ripped open. I thought it was the end! I thought I can’t go up, and I can’t go down. I thought of my family.
“But I tried, I smashed away ice with my ice axe and managed to climb up. It was still two or three hours to top and I was very hungry. After three hours, I reached the top and there were lots of crevasses on the way. A dog had followed me from Thengbo. I was exhausted but if I stopped, he would bark.
“Getting down the other side was just as much adventure!”
What next for Sunil?
“I think I am going to study Environmental Management at college. There’s no professional outdoor training here in Nepal – if I could get a professional outdoor training opportunity, then I’d really love to join that instead. Meanwhile, I will try to lead some trekking groups and show them the area I am from.”
Sunil is currently writing up his adventures for his website http://www.suniltamang.com/. You can contact Sunil via the contact form there.
[UPDATE: The event has been sadly postponed until further notice. The reason behind cancelling this festival according to the Tsum Shyakya Youth Club, is "because of some catastrophes which occurred recently and took lives of 5 people. So, it will be against people's feeling to celebrate. On the other hand it is due to ill heath of our great Lama Drukpa Rinpoche, who won't able to visit there."]
A festival is being planned in Tsum Valley around mid-September this year, and for a slightly unusual reason.
Lopsang Lama is telling me about it in a small road-side restaurant in Kathmandu. He’s is a young man from Chhokang Paro in the Tsum Valley. He takes pictures in his spare time and was excited to offer a few photos taken in Tsum Valley to share on this website.
Lopsang Lama from Tsum Valley
The exact date is not yet decided, he tells, but it will be sometime after the hard work of the harvest is completed around mid-September. It’s not a festival on a regular schedule, and it is something completely unique to Tsum.
The valley, the upper part above Domje at least, has been ‘violence free’ for 91 years. Almost a century ago a Bhutanese monk called Serab Dorjee, who was the first Dukpa Rinpoche in Rachen Gomba, formalised this code of non-violence among the villagers of Tsum. He made a list of names, and everybody signed it with a thumbprint.
For the inhabitants of Tsum, it goes far beyond simply not slaughtering animals. There used to be honey hunting long ago, but no more, the bees are left in peace. Making fires in the jungle to clear land for agriculture is similarly not allowed in Tsum. Two years ago there was a case where Tibetan shepherds tried to bring their goats and sheep through the valley and they were turned back, as those goats were being taken for slaughter for the Dashain festival. It’s hard to imagine another place in the world with such an ethical code.
The signing of the code was repeated in B.S. 2029 (1972) by the second Dukpa Rinpoche, Ngawang Khenrab, but the majority of those who signed the document then have since passed away. So now it is time to do it again, and this festival will serve that purpose.
But it will serve another important purpose too. Lopsang also explained that there is a fear in Tsum of loosing their culture. He estimates that there are 4,000 Tsumba, the people of Tsum, and around 1300 around outside of the valley, in monasteries or schooling in Kathmandu, or working in India or even further afield. One Tsumba is working as an architect in Germany.
Change is happening faster than ever and this festival is a way of connecting the youth of Tsum with an important part of their culture. “If the young put their thumbprint, then for maybe 60 years more we know this part of our culture will be alive.”
For trekkers this is a great time to visit Tsum. As a photographer himself, Lopsang thinks it is the best time to take portraits of people. “Everybody is wearing their best clothes and they love to have their picture taken,” Lopsang says. It’s a different matter however when people are working, in their old work clothes.
There are no hotels in heart of Tsum Valley, just camping or lodging with families in homestays. ”If there is a hotel then one family makes all the money, if we have homestays, then everyone can benefit. The facilities might be a bit basic, but most trekkers manage just fine and get to know our culture.”
“We have no big mountains like Manaslu,” although Ganesh Himal which guards over Tsum is a towering 7,429 m, “but we do have our unique culture, it’s very special.”
Further information about Tsum Valley
Lopsang very much recommends watching Unmistaken Child, described thus: “Featuring stunning photography from one of the most beautiful areas in the world, this documentary depicts Tibetan rituals that have never before been captured on film. Witness an extraordinary individual journey in this touching, revealing look at a Nepalese monk’s search for his reincarnated mentor.” See the trailer below or on Youtube.
Recently, Beijing-based photojournalist Daniel Allen came to Nepal to research and photograph the Great Himalaya Trail for a number of magazine commissions. Together Nepal Tourism Board and TAAN sent him to Dolpa. He really enjoyed the experience, and we asked him to sum up why he came, how he found it and to tell us about which, of the thousands of photographs he took, was his favourite of the bunch. Here’s what Daniel says:
I first heard about the Great Himalaya Trail when I interviewed Katja Staartjes for Holland Herald, the in-flight magazine of KLM. She was about to trek in the far west of the GHT and made the whole trekking experience in Nepal sound absolutely amazing. This piqued my interest, and the more I read, the more I wanted to promote the trail, explore the reasons behind its development, and indulge my passion for travel and photography.
Dolpa is a fascinating region on many levels, and there’s certainly no shortage of subject matter for anyone interested in photography. Visitors to the region will witness some truly dramatic landscapes, a culture that is strange, colourful and exciting, a diverse flora and fauna, and people who welcome you to their land with a ready smile and bashful curiosity. Looking back, it really was an amazing experience.
The people I encountered were certainly what impressed me most about the section of the GHT that I trekked. Dolpa is clearly not an easy place to live – this is a tough environment. Yet everyone was cheerful and kind, patiently looking out for the Western guy who could have been a little fitter and who stopped every five minutes to take a snap. My guide, especially, was as generous and considerate as they come.
My favorite photo is the one below. It might not be the most challenging shot I’ve ever taken technically, but I can’t think of many that I’ve toiled longer or harder to obtain. It shows one of my porters at the top of the Numa La Pass at around 5300 meters, after I’d just spent about an hour climbing the last 300 meters to the top. I was so exhausted that I had half a mind to leave my camera in its bag, but just about found the energy to focus and shoot. Needless to say my wiry porter took it all in his stride with a grin and a hearty slap on my sweat-soaked back.
I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending a visit to Dolpa to anybody interested in trekking the world’s most remote, unspoiled locations. With its incredibly beautiful scenery and fascinating culture, not to mention the hospitality of the local Nepali and Tibetan people, it really is a place where you can take a step back from the travails of everyday life and enjoy experiences that (in my humble opinion) only the fortunate few get to enjoy. At times it may provide a physical challenge, but this section of the GHT is worth the effort ten times over.
The idea behind the GHT – namely alleviating poverty in remote areas of Nepal – is both admirable and achievable. Every single day that I walked the Dolpa section of the trail I was moved by both the humility and the sheer hard work of the local people I encountered. If sustainable tourism can help raise the standard of living in Dolpa and other areas traversed by the GHT, then I’m proud to think that my articles may, in some small way, help the trail achieve its worthy goals.
Daniel’s photographs from the Dolpa trek
Daniel has put a (large) selection of his Dolpa pictures online. With many people-shots they really give an idea how how daily life is for the people in Dolpa. And we really like this one!
Recently two Americans, Shawn Forry (trail name Pepper) and Justin Lichter (aka Trauma) trekked the Nepal section of the Great Himalaya Trail from Kanchenjunga and reached Simikot 57 days later. Their style might be considered unusual to those familiar with trekking in Nepal. They did it unsupported and self-guided, relying on pre-placed food and equipment stocks and a trekking agent in Nepal to manage logistics.
We catch up with Shawn by email from the USA (his trek partner Justin is still walking through India) and ask him some questions. An inspiring read to anyone who dreams of trekking the whole trail but it also comes perhaps with good advice for people wanting to walk a section of the trail.
Why did you decide to take up this 8000m > 8000m challenge. What was the inspiration?
Trauma first brought up the idea of the Himalayas to me on a fun fall hike we did together with some other fellow hiker friends in the fall of 2009. At that time I was so intimidated by the notion of traversing the highest range in the world and doubted it’s feasibility, that I quickly wrote it off. Coincidentally, a few months later I ran across a tiny blurb about the GHT in an edition of Nat Geo Adventure magazine. After looking into the research of Robin and the GHT.org, as well as some historical hikes like Hillary’s, Swift/Blum, and Wilby [see wikipedia], it became apparent that this might be something that could be realistic and something we could potentially tackle in the fast and light, self supported strategies we’ve utilized on other long hikes around the world. In thinking about the aesthetics of what would be an inspiring start and finishing termini, we realized how Kanchenjunga and Nanga Parbat would make natural locations and then the dream of seeing all of the 14 8,000m peaks started to take shape. The more we dove into the planning and logistics of the hike, we saw how many hurdles would need to be overcome, but the geography and pure aesthetics of the land and route are really what prompted us to continue down this path that would take up over a year of our lives.
Can you give a quick run through of the places you trekked through in Nepal? i.e. your route? It’s hard to see from the waypoints alone.
We started our trek by taking a bus to Taplejung and heading north on the Kanchenjunga Trek to Ghunsa. We planned on heading to Kanchenjunga base camp, but opted out to save time and the additional need to acclimatize. Went over the Nango La to Olangchung Gola, Lumbha Sambha La into Chyamtang. Snow was way too deep to head towards Makalu BC, so we had to re-route south to Num. We opted out of the lower cultural route to Lukla from Num and ended up skipping about 60km of high route over West Col, Sherpani and Amphu. Flew into Lukla went to Namche, EBC, Cho La, Renjo La and Tashi Labsta. From Simi we road walked to Singati and then road walked over Tinsang La to Barhabise. We took the cultural route from Barhabise to Melamchi and then took the Gosainkunda trek to Dhunche. Road walk to Syabrubesi and then back to the high route all the way to Dho Tarap. Through Dolpa we went over the Jyanta La and Nengla La towards Pho and then High Route again all the way to Simikot where we finished. Our route was mostly based on a balance of logistics and high route scenery.
How did you manage with permits? I think around Manaslu you need 4 permits, plus a guide with you. What do you think could or should be changed for thru-hikers?
Ask anybody that knows me and they will tell you how much I hate dealing with backcountry permits. I have a stack of fines and citations from various Park Rangers over the years to prove it! Permits were definitely one of the biggest looming questions we had prior to beginning this trek, but hindsight, things worked out well to our benefit. We ended up going through a trekking company, Adventure Alliance, that was recommended to me from a friend of a friend.
Knowing that there are literally hundreds of trekking agencies in Kathmandu and very few of them are familiar with the Great Himalaya Trail, having a trusted point person to run the behind the scenes paperwork mess was integral to the success of our hike. We took about 5 days prior to the start of our hike to organize and sort through the mountain of permitting requirements. By getting all of them started at the same time, it allowed some of the more time intensive areas like Dolpa and Manaslu to be completed and issued by the time we would be heading through those areas. The most confusing and frustrating aspect is the lack of clarity about what permits are actually needed, their price, and what other stipulations go along with that area in terms of guide requirements. For instance, you mention in your question that you need 4 permits for Manaslu and a guide, but we went through that area with one Conservation Area Permit, a TIMS card and no guides or porters. Every check point we went through, nobody questioned our documents, yet almost every other trekking party was coming up to us asking how we didn’t have a guide.
On the flip side, we went through the Upper Dolpa region, which has a permit price tag of $500USD and yet we saw absolutely no one in the region with any sort of check point authority. My biggest recommendation for Nepal and their permitting system would be to have one standard ‘all in one’ permit. If you look at trails like the Pacific Crest Trail in the US, there is one governing body that oversees the development and regulations of the trail. They issue one similar permit to thru-hikers who are attempting 500 miles or more of the trail in a year for a nominal fee. Regardless of what Nepal sets the price of this ‘all in one’ permit, it would alleviate the frustration and confusion around this permitting structure. I have a feeling the popularity of the GHT will continue to increase, and trekking companies may become more familiar with the areas the route goes and the necessary required permits, but ultimately a specialized permit for thru-hikers would be the most efficient system.
What was your favourite spot on the hike?
Naturally one would think the classic destinations like Everest base camp or Annapurna would be high on my list, but actually Dolpa was by far my favorite region of Nepal and the GHT. I felt this area had the perfect blend of culture, scenery, and pure wilderness. Very few trekkers venture into this remote area and the local customs and way of like haven’t been spoiled by tourism and catering to trekkers. Being such a remote and harsh, dry landscape, it was fascinating to see how the people had adapted to the land and made it sustainable. Walking through the barren landscape of Dho Tarap after coming over several high snowy passes and seeing young local boys tilling the fields with their yaks made such a lasting impression on me and where I finally feel like I understood Nepal and it’s people. That sense of time and place really resonated with me in that moment in time.
If you were going to recommend a part of the trek for somebody with a shorter time available, which bit would it be?
I felt like the link up of the Annapurna Circuit and Manaslu Trek had the perfect balance of Nepali culture and mountain scenery while also being logistically easy to get to and from the trail. There are plenty of trekker accommodations and if you are heading east-west, both the climbs over the Larkya La and Thorong La are gradual enough to allow for plenty of time to acclimatize. I felt this area was also a huge transition zone in regards to the landscape. The Nepal you see in Jagat on the Manaslu Circuit will be vastly different from the Nepal you will see in Jomsom on the completion of the Annapurna Circuit.
For something more wild and remote, hands down the Dolpa section from Jomsom to Gamgadhi has to be some of the most challenging and genuine miles in Nepal. I feel like the culture is authentic and you will see absolutely no one along your route. There are various loops you can take you adjust your level of commitment and duration. Lake Phoksumdo is spectacular as well as the Buddhist village of Shey Gompa and Chharka Bhot. Getting to/from the area is relatively easy via Pokhara and Jumla, but you are definitely in some far off places. This was the one area in Nepal where we went through a valley with absolutely so settlements established (Yala La to Chyargo La).
Which part was the most challenging?
Dolpa, but maybe that’s why it was so rewarding. 375km without any sort of resupply, nine passes over 5000m and being consistently at elevations over 14,000ft definitely wore us both down. I think Trauma and I both lost 10-15lbs in the 9 days we were going through this section. We were totally sick of the food we were carrying, had a lack of appetite from the elevation, were routinely gaining and losing 4000-6000m everyday, and consistently coughing up bloody sputum. Type 2 fun possibly, but some of the most rewarding miles we’ve ever done.
If conditions would have allowed for it, I think the section between Makalu and Everest over the 3 high passes (West Col, Sherpani Col and Amphu Labsta) would have potentially been the hardest section. Not only because of the altitude and technical aspects, but sorting out the logistics of getting food supplies would have been a headache. Rumor had it that we could have pilfered some food rations from some of the Makalu and Baruntse expedition teams, but these seemed unreliable as well as not very self sufficient.
You’ve done big treks all over. What was different about trekking in Nepal compared to other places you’ve trekked in?
The sheer scale of things really stands out. The amount of elevation you can gain and lose in one single day still staggers me. To see elderly women passing me, hauling 50lbs of rice on their heads and wearing little more than worn out sandals stills boggles my mind. I think the blend of culture and scenery is something I hadn’t experienced before and it really enriched the experience and added a fresh perspective. To really get to know a place is to get to know it’s people and I feel really fortunate to have been able to see Nepal in that light.
Any other anecdotes or funnies from the trail?
One thing we read a lot about in the planning process of this expedition was the cultural acceptance of staring. We became quite accustomed to becoming the town spectacle anytime we would take a break in a town or village. By the end of the trip we barely even noticed when locals would congregate around us. One particular instance that stands out on our final days heading to Simikot was where we took a meal break along some river rocks. About 5 minutes into our break, 3 villagers passed by us and hoped off the trail to join us in a river side rest. As usual the staring ensued as we aired our feet out and stuffed our faces with copious amounts of calories. After about 30 minutes of spectating, I think the 3 villagers must have become bored with us and quickly nodded off into a slumber, one by one. I’m not sure if they lost interest with us or we were just too boring for them, but we ended up packing up and returning to the trail without them even noticing that we had departed. I’m still not sure where to feel let down and disappointed about our lack of entertaining skills.
How do you rate Sean Burch’s Great Himalaya Trail ‘World Record’ crossing in 49 days? He did it differently with a team of porters and a different route.
I’m not really one to take on challenges purely from a speed aspect and don’t really know the ins and outs around Sean’s expedition, but knowing the route that we chose and the self sufficient nature of our hike, I think esthetically our trek has a lot different appeal and intent than Sean’s. Not to discredit what Sean accomplished, but knowing that we covered nearly the same distance in 47 days and a handful of those days we traveled less than 3 hours due to either logistics, acclimatization, resupply or stomach ailments, I think we could have easily knocked off 5-10 days if we were solely out there for speed. Sean set the bar for what is possible and now it will be up to others to see where things can be improved upon.
Knowing that we were consistently on a higher route, fully self sufficient, and without guides or porters, I think our route and strategy had a different set of challenges and ultimately something other folks could aspire to achieve. I don’t think it’s practical for future GHT hikers to organize a fully supported hike complete with porters and guides, both from a logistical stand point and a financial reality, and I hope what our hike was able to achieve is the notion that other folks can come out here on their own and hike a similar route. Our big objective was to try and make the Himalaya range more accessible and less intimidating. We based our route around what made the most logistical sense in terms of resupply and the need to carry tons of technical gear, as well as the ability to self guide ourselves. In our planning process, we were consistently told that anything less than a 150+ day itinerary would be impractical and thus would require 2 trekking seasons to either avoid the monsoonal rains or the closure of high passes through the winter season. This notion only further fuels the idea that the Himalaya range is inaccessible and a lot of people cannot dedicate that much time off in their personal lives. I truly believe that the GHT can be completed in one trekking season by any experienced trekker. The challenge is sorting out the details about how best to go about accomplishing this brand new route for people to explore.
I’m currently trying to type up a logistical planning sheet for other aspiring GHT trekkers looking to travel in a similar fashion. After many long conversations with Robin during our planning process, there seems to be a disconnect with what is accepted as possible with Nepali hiking and what are considered norms in trekking regions that have similar long distance trekking routes. Ultimately I think it is important to prioritize what ever the individual trekker is looking to get out of their hike, but I also think it is helpful to consider all perspectives on how to go about tackling the Great Himalaya trail.
Many thanks for taking the time to answer these ones Shawn and good luck out in the back country.
Thanks so much for taking the time to put this questionnaire together. I fully committed on promoting the GHT and truly believe that it could be the ‘trail to rule them all’. Many thanks and let me know if there is anything else I can do to help you all out.
It’s a over a year ago since Geo Magazin came to Nepal and other Himalayan countries to gather material for their Himalaya Special which was published in December 2010. The magazine is in German, and even if you can’t read German, you can still flick through the pages of the Himalaya edition and enjoy the amazing photography on their website.
One article from that magazine was translated into English for Geo-International magazine. It’s about a season at Everest Basecamp, and it tries to understand what it is like to be on an expedition there, life at altitude, the landscape and ambiance. The photos for this article were taken by Alex Treadway who designed this website and took some of the pictures presented for Manalsu & Ganesh Himal and the Everest regions. Geo International has kindly given permission to reproduce the article here. A download link is given below.
Our friend Tashi Bista was helping with some information about trekking routes and places to visit in Upper Mustang.
I was asking about sticking out tongues, as this was mentioned Michel Peissel’s 1964 book as a form of greeting among Mustangis. “Not really,” he said to my disappointment, “it’s more of a close contact thing, a sign of surprise to see a friend after a long time. But is also used as a symbol of respect to the higher castes at times.” **
“But,” he continued, “there are quite a lot of other traditions and beliefs we have in Upper Mustang.” After a few seconds, he brought up a rather interesting picture on his laptop. It was a young girl of just a few years old immersed in a Yak’s stomach.
Baby girl embraced by her grandmother.
“If the baby is thought to be a bit small, or their talking ability is developing late, then they get put into the belly of a freshly slaughtered yak. It’s stomach is still warm and full of fodder. They take out the baby when it starts to cry, but wait at least a minute even if it is crying anyway! It’s believed that will help talking and walking skills to develop faster.”
Click to view the gallery. WARNING: contains images that may disturb sensitive people.
But who kills the yak? Aren’t Buddhists vegetarian?
“Well, this is before the harsh winter when some animals are cut to make a winter stock of meat. It’s unbelievably cold through winter for the few people that stay up there, and they need nutritious food that can sustain them. The harsh weather makes it very difficult to grow green vegetables without a green house.”
And what other traditions should we know about in Upper Mustang?
“Well, there’s the Himalayan marmot. We believe if you rub your skin against marmot fur, dead or alive, it can cure some skin diseases. If you have a mouth ulcer, you can rub the white underbelly of a common lizard against the ulcer to cure it. However, most people prefer to do this if the lizard is no longer living!”
Tashi goes on.
“If you have a hat made from fox or wolf fur, that’s very good for your status, and putting hair of a rabbit on your door, that brings good luck.”
He also has a good tip for any group taking horses on their Upper Mustang trek.
“We ride horses a lot in Mustang. If you get pain on your backside from the saddle, then you have to find some dung from the horse that gave you the wound and rub that on your own behind. If your horse catches cold, the villagers will feed black beetles (the common ones found here) to the horse.”
Should you get snow-blindness [NB. totally avoidable if you have good sun glasses], then you can mix some wheat flour with hot ghee, like a hot ball of tsampa, and rub against your eyes. To prevent snow blindness, the lobas, the people of Lo, have developed two tricks: the first is to mix ash with water to make a black colouring and wear on the under and upper part of your eyes; the secondly, is to wear a good bunch of black yak hair over your eyes.
And for other trekkers, who might not have been in the best shape at the start of their trek and suffer from joint pain, then some marmot fat rubbed on the joint should apparently ease the pain. For that you might have to join forces with someone with a skin complaint to find a marmot.
Now with basic health posts dotted around, the marmots might have less to worry about, but still these remedies are strongly held in the culture.
All of this goes to prove the point that no-one knows an area like a local, and if you are organising a trek, try to make sure you have a local guide in the team. They might not always be immediately forthcoming with insights like these – for all of this is totally normal to them – but engage and enquire and you’ll slowly get a deeper understanding of the cultures you’re visiting.
** A friend mentioned that when she was in Lhasa in Tibet in 1999 she accidentally bumped into a man in the street. He immediately pulled a face, poking his tongue right out and opening his eyes wide. “What on earth was that about?” she wondered, a little shocked. She later was told that this man was just demonstrating that, “my eyes are not red, and my tongue is not black, so I am not a demon, you don’t need to worry!”
Yak blood drinking festival
There are several other festivals that involve blood happening in Lower Mustang. Here is a video taken by Chetan Raghuram from Bangalore. Interesting!
[The] festival of drinking fresh blood of Yak to cure diseases, like gastritis, is being celebrated in Nepal’s north-west district Mustang. The festival is celebrated twice a year during April-May and July-August by local people. Some 5-10 glasses of yak blood is taken out by piercing its neck and drunk without killing the animal. It costs around Rs 60 to drink a glass of yak blood and people drink instantly before it freezes.
If you’re inspired by the idea of trekking on the Great Himalaya Trail, this red line might help! It’s simply a rough approximation of the GHT route overlaid on Google Maps. With a little bit of zooming and dragging, you can follow the route along valleys and over passes.
Seeing a snowleopard is perhaps one of the greatest possible highlights of trekking in Nepal. These big cats are rare, very shy and obviously well camouflaged, and to see one in the wild consequently requires a lot of luck.
It is thus a great shame to hear that poaching still occurs in the region. At the end of May 2011 two poachers adorned the pages of the Kathmandu Post, holding up the pelts that they were caught with in the “Paradise” Hotel in Marpha in Lower Mustang. According to the post report:
“At the police interrogation the duo denied poaching the animals. They however admitted to have skinned three snow leopards that they claimed were found dead in a place called Chaurikharka, an eight hours walk from Mustang, where the police recovered bones, pelts and carcass of snow leopard.
“The operation was carried out based on a tip-off received by WWF Nepal on the pelts that were sighted in a padlocked room at the guest house. The police, with the help of WWF Nepal’s officials and Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, successfully carried out the operation.
“Rs 100,000 and 15 years of imprisonment is slapped to one guilty of poaching a conserved animal.”
Poachers and snow-leopard pelts
But it is perhaps it is still good to know that while poaching is happening, there is a force working against it in the shape of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Reserves (DNPWR) and the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) offices in Pokhara.
See a few seconds of rare night footage of a snow-leopard and cub here:
If you are passing through Kathmandu, keep this load-shedding schedule handy. If you have a local mobile phone here, you can also send an SMS to 2722 with your group number i.e. G1, G2, G3, G4, G5, G6, G7 and you’ll get an SMS back with the load shedding schedule for the group you are in. Very handy.
Downloadable, printable version below.
Kathmandu load shedding schedule from 24th May 2011
We posted recently about the Manaslu trekking circuit becoming a tea-house trek. Almost! There is tea-house accommodation all the way from Arughat now. Two entrepreneurs built a basic lodge at Larkya Phedi, just below the long stretch up to the Larkya La pass. Before, a cold night of camping was essential here. But it remains “almost” because some of the tea-houses on lower section of the trek are still a little too basic for some trekkers.
The entrepreneurs, Chandra and Dhir, decided that to make their lodging successful, they’d have to improve the standards in the existing lodges too. So they advertised and held a three-day training course. It was extremely popular. 56 people in total attended and people even in Tsum Valley were reportedly angry that they had not been informed!
Did the course achieve its goals? “We tried to focus on simple things,” says Dhir, “so we’ll have to see. We’ll definitely try to hold another course again.”
While the GHT’s trails are all there, infrastructure for trekkers on the more remote trails needs developing further and this is a important part of the GHT Development Programme. While trekkers can reach almost anywhere as camping expeditions, this form of travel rarely benefits local people as almost everything is brought from outside.
When people can stay in clean lodges, and eat local food cooked by local people, and employ porters and guides from the region, then tourism will really be benefiting the local communities.
So training is key. The training manuals you see below (developed in both Nepali and English) provide a tried and tested syllabus for participants in such training courses. There is also a set of trainers manuals for those who give the courses.
The topics covered include understanding tourism, hygiene and sanitation, cooking, guiding, English language, first aid and lodge management.
While these have been used and tested for the GHT Pilot Project in Humla and Dolpa, where more than 50 businesses received training, others have taken the initiative and given training courses using these books to provide a framework.
If you’ve ever flown to Jomsom from Pokhara, you’ll remember being amazed at the villages dotted about on the high ridges stretching down from the mighty flanks of Annapurna South. Tiny paths head along the ridge-tops towards high pastures and you wonder how far they go. The plane whizzes by this world in a Mustang-bound instant, but the idea of being down there on the ground watching the plane pass remains.
Well now the people of those aerial villages on the South Western side of the Annapurna massif have opened this fabulous landscape for off the beaten-track trekking. They’ll take you to one of those ridges and you’ll either be watching the morning flights glide below you or maybe gazing upon a sea of cloud with only islands of high mountains visible.
This is the Myagdi Parbat Eco-trek. It’s located in the area just to the West of Poon-hill, to the east of which lies one of Nepal’s most visited areas and lies right on the Great Himalaya Trail Cultural Route and the area is populated entirely by Magar people.
View images on Flickr
This is one of several new community-managed projects in Nepal, where a lot of work has gone into ensuring the benefit from your visit reaches the whole community. And in this case, they have one main goal – to invest all proceeds in increasing local access to education and health through Himanchal Education Foundation.
As good as this sounds, is there anything more to it that just nice views? Is anybody going to want to go?
Actually, it sounds like a fabulous Nepal experience with a mixture of nature and culture in abundance. They say people come to Nepal for the mountains and return for the people. Well there are of course mountains in abundance. The views from Khopra, the highest point of the trek (3,660 m) that rests on one side of Annapurna South, are far better than Poon hill, and you can be enjoyed from your lodge window. You’ll go home with stunning sunrise pictures different to everybody else.
Khopra also has a yak farm with 150 hairy yaks and there’s an all year round cheese factory lower down in Paudawar.
From Mohare Dandha, and many other locations, you can see 29 great mountain tops stretching east and west with great views of the Annapurnas, the Machhapuchhare, Phewa Lake, the often neglected Dhaulagiri and visit the community-managed yak-cow cross breeding farm (dzos produce as much milk as cows but keeps the particular taste of that from yaks).
The Magar people who live here wear sacks on their back called bangra which is a cross between a backpack and a huge pocket. You can see them being woven in Tikot, which vies incidentally for the title of being one of the prettiest villages in Nepal. There’s a homestay option here so you can bed and board with a family and see how Magar life is behind closed doors.
Click to enlarge
Depending on the time of year, there is, not for the faint of heart, a Yak-blood drinking festival in Paudawar somewhere in July, and in Lareni in winter. In Nangi, there’s a traditional paper-making shop run by local women, In Banskharka maidan (maidan means meadow), Mandarins grow in Autumn. Above Nangi you’ll pass through a pristine, sacred forest with hidden temples around a natural swimming-pool that appears each Summer. Meet here Mr Moti, the Grower, a characterful, retired British Gurkha in his 70s who manages the community forest nursery here.
And because this is a community project, everybody is going to be giving you a warm welcome.
NB: this used to be called the Myagdi Parbat Eco-trek! If you are looking for a map of this trek, look for the Myagdi Parbat Eco-trek map!
Click to download
[The Annapurna Dhaulagiri Community Trail folks have produced an e-brochure, and it's a nice one describing places to visit on their six or eight day suggested intineraries. Click to download it. As their trails sit firmly over the GHT lower or 'Cultural Route', they're proud to mention it in their marketing materials. Hopefully we'll be able to update soon with an online trekking map too.]
This is a short trailer for a wonderfully shot documentary about a porter in Nepal who has the job to carrying a broken fridge for repair. If you have ever trekked in Nepal, you’ll have gazed that the loads that porters carry and wondered both how they manage and, perhaps, what they think about it. This documentary follows Hari Rai and gives you some insight into his thoughts, beliefs and hopes for the future.
Synopsis:
This is a story of a 17-year-old boy named Hari Rai, who lives in a small village in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal, and his extraordinary journey. Hari is a student. However, he also works as a porter so that he could pay for his tuition and cover his living expenses. Although very young, he already has three years of experience carrying loads up and down the mountain, mostly tourists’ backpacks. This time, he gets a job to carry a huge red refrigerator from the top of the mountain, to the nearest town. We follow Hari Rai on his journey through the fascinating Himalayan landscapes, we discover Hari’s inner life, his thoughts, hopes and dreams and we also get to know the culture and the local people’s way of life in this region. We learn about their relation with the most important aspects of their lives: family, nature and religion. Out of 60,000 child porters in Nepal, Hari is one of the few lucky ones to have a chance of going to school…
You can order this documentary through the creators’ website, which, incidentally, is a fabulous piece of work in its own right. http://www.lunamdocs.com/
“The 15 days walk around Manaslu Himal is geographically spectacular and culturally fascinating. A journey out of time,” says French photographer Jerome Gublin.
“Far away from the now crowded Annapurnas or Everest trekking areas, Manaslu Himal Conservation Area is still a preserved and authentic trekking [place] in Nepal,” he continues.
Jerome wrote to us to ask if he would mention his book under the Manaslu section of the website and place a link to the online preview. He said, “It’s just a pleasure to share, as many times one photo was the beginning of my trips.”
Having taken a look around the blurb.com website where his picture book is presented, it reminds very much of virtually leafing through books in one of the many bookstores in Thamel – there are several hundred books on Nepal listed there.
Some are from professional photographers at the top of their profession, others are people like you and me who were inspired to put together a book of their experiences using all of the new technology now freely available to everybody. If you are in an office and its lunchtime, take some time to flick through a few different books. There are some lovely pictures, such as the old woman munching on an ice cream, a couple of children lying on the ground giggling, or wild mountains of Makalu Barun.
Click to preview this book
More and more trekkers are looking for more authentic trekking experiences. The Annapurna circuit, for instance, is very different to how it was over 30 years ago. But traditional welcomes are to be found in many places on the Great Himalaya Trail and the Manaslu trek, beautifully depicted in this book, is but one. Rolwaling, Tsum valley, Dolpa, Mustang, Makalu, Humla are all a little bit off the well beaten track, but this is where you’ll find the famous authentic Nepali trekking experience.
Still, if you’re far from Nepal right now, then you can begin exploring through photographs with a few clicks of your mouse. Click below to begin your journey!
This article is well worth downloading and reading. Entitled Budi Gandaki’s Soliloquy, it tells of a 20 day journey to Manaslu base camp during the monsoon season with the roaring noise of the great Budi Gandaki river ever-present.
It tells of flourishing wildlife, a villager living under a spell cast upon him, wonky, trembling bridges, a lama who is scared of bears and another lama who disperses clouds with short bursts of breath (for a fee). And the remarkable story of a hole around ten inches deep and three inches wide.
Thanks very much to Travel Times magazine for providing a copy of this article in PDF form. Thanks too to Kapil Bisht and Suresh Maharjan for the words and pictures respectively.
