World's 'ultimate trek' officially opens
3rd October 2011
Nepal has officially opened the Great Himalaya Trail, one of the longest and highest trekking routes in the world that will take up to 157 days to complete
Nepal's tourism board has officially announced the opening of the Great Himalaya Trail (GHT). Dubbed by hikers as the 'ultimate trek', the trails stretches 1,700km, from Taplejung to Humla at the border with Tibet.
Now the trails are officially 'open', travellers from all over the world are expected to flock to the area to try out the new routes.
Sharad Pradham, a spokesman for the Nepal Tourism Board said, “The trails will also help cement Nepal's reputation as the ultimate destination for adventure seekers. Adventure tourism, as a niche, is new to us but this is definitely an attractive package."
Robin Boustead, who originally developed the idea for the GHT said, "It's great to see the Nepal government officially adopting the GHT, I hope we'll see the other Himalayan countries do the same in the near future. The more publicity the GHT receives the greater the chance trekkers and operaotors will give something back to the communities they pass through.
"My big hope now is that we'll see GHT trekkers adopting the Code of Conduct and taking a far more responsible approach to being in the Himalaya," he added.
From start to finish, the 'ultimate trek' is expected to take experienced trekkers around five months to complete.
Nepal hosts thousands of trekkers and mountaineers annually. The country has eight of the world's 14 peaks over 8,000m, including the world's highest, Mount Everest, at 8,848m.
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