The Great Himalayan Trail (GHT) runs through the high ranges of Nepal taking you from Sikkim in the East to Uttarakhand in the North. The traverse runs between 2000 to 6000m altitude and stays close to the border with Tibet in the North. At an average mileage of 20km / day this 2500km long traverse would take about 120 days or 4 months to complete. Best season for high passes in Nepal is either Spring (Apr-Jun) or Autumn (Sep-Nov) which might be insufficient. Avoid both monsoon (Jul-Aug) heavy rains and winter (Dec-Feb) lots of snow/passes closed. Best strategy for doing the full traverse is starting in West in May and reaching East in Sep to stay ahead of the monsoon and before the snow closes the passes.
- Traverse
- Food drops
- Geography
- Section-wise
- Technical
- Permits
Traverse
Download below GPX files in nakarte.me to study the traverse in detail including major villages, mountain passes and food drop points:
Food Drops
We propose below 12 equal spaced food drop points over 2500km / 4 months traverse for food resupply every 250km / 10 days:
- Phungling 27.35648 87.67289
- Bhotkhola 27.76385 87.36329 (hiking)
- Thame 27.83189 86.65048
- Bagaam 27.91903 85.87058
- Syabru Bensi 28.16367 85.33725
- Khorlabesi 28.25446 84.88329
- Darapani 28.52430 84.35449
- Kagbeni 28.83626 83.78341
- Dangibada 28.97986 82.82490
- Chandannath 29.27495 82.18327
- Simikot 29.97204 81.81844
- Khandeshwari 29.80780 80.87539
Geography
Plotting the trans Nepal traverse on an elevation base map shows the overall topography including major valleys and in-between high ranges we pass along the way:
Night Halts
The km markers shown by Nakarte.me allow us to identify periodic night halts along the traverse. Suitable places include:
- Villages
- Campsites
- Natural shelters
Section-wise summary
Technical sections
On the GHT Nepal, the 5 technical passes are Sherpani col, West col Amphu Labsta, Tashi Labsta and Tilman pass, although the only ones really requiring mountaineering ropes/equipment are Sherpnai Col, West col and Amphu Labsta.
Permits
Regions/VDCs
Permit Fee
1.
Upper Mustang
Lomanthang Rural Municipality (All areas of ward no. 1 to 5)
Lo-Ghekar Damodarkunda Rural Municipality (All areas of ward no. 1 to 5)
Baragung Muktichetra Rural Municipality (All areas of ward no. 3 and Satang Village of ward no.5)
USD 500 per person (for the first 10 days)
USD 50 per person /Day (beyond 10 days)
2.
Upper Dolpa
Dolpo Buddha Rural Municipality (All areas of ward no. 4 to 6)
Shey Phoksundo Rural Municipality (All areas of ward no. 1 to 7)
Charka Tangsong Rural Municipality (All areas of ward no. 1 to 6)
USD 500 per person (for the first 10 days)
USD 50 per person /Day (beyond 10 days)
3.
Gorkha Manaslu Area
Chumnubri Rural Municipality (All areas of ward nos. 1,2,3 and 4)
September – November
USD 100 per person / week
USD 15 per person / day (beyond 1 week)
December – August
USD 75 per person / week
USD 10 per person / day (beyond 1 week)
4.
Humla
Simikot Rural Municipality (All areas of ward nos. 1,6 and 7)
Namkha Rural Municipality (All areas of ward no. 1 to 6)
Changkheli Rural Municipality (All areas of ward no. 3 to 5)
USD 50 per person / week
USD 10 per person / day (beyond 1 week)
5.
Taplejung
Phantanglung Rural Municipality (All areas of ward nos. 6 and 7)
Mikwakhola Rural Municipality (All areas of ward no. 5)
Sirijunga Rural Municipality (All areas of ward no. 8)
USD 20 per person/ week (for the first 4 weeks)
USD 25 per person /week ( beyond 4 weeks)
6.
Lower Dolpa Area
Thulibheri municipality (All areas of ward no. 1 to 11)
Tripurasundari municipality (All areas of ward no. 1 to 11)
Dolpo Buddha Rural Municipality (All areas of ward no. 1 to 3)
Shey Phoksundo Rural Municipality (All areas of ward no. 8 and 9)
Jagdulla Rural Municipality (All areas of ward no. 1 to 6)
Mudkechula Rural Municipality (All areas of ward no. 1 to 9)
Kaike Rural Municipality (All areas of ward no. 1 to 7)
USD 20 per person/ week
USD 5 per person /week ( beyond 1 week)
7.
Dolakha
Gaurishankhar Rural Municipality (All areas of ward no. 9)
Bighu Rural Municipality (All areas of ward no. 1)
USD 20 per person/ week
8.
Gorkha Tsum Valley Area
Sirdibas-Lokpa-Chumling-Chekampar-Nile-Chule
Chumnubri Rural Municipality (All areas of ward nos. 3,6 and 7)
September – November
USD 40 per person / week
USD 7 per person / day (beyond 1 week)
December – August
USD 30 per person / week
USD 7 per person / day (beyond 1 week)
9.
Sankhuwasabha
Bhotkhola Rural Municipality (All areas of ward no. 1 to 5)
Makalu Rural Municipality (All areas of ward no. 4)
USD 20 per person/ week (for the first 4 weeks)
USD 25 per person /week ( beyond 4 weeks)
10.
Solukhumbu
Khumbu Pasang Lahmu Rural Municipality (All areas of ward no. 5)
USD 20 per person/ week (for the first 4 weeks)
USD 25 per person /week ( beyond 4 weeks)