Great Trail reviving tourism in Helambu

By Chitra Mijar,Sindhupalchowk, May 13: The latter half of the 2010s and the early 2020s were not kind to Helambu’s tourism sector. The 2015 earthquake shook tourists’ confidence and the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent national and international lockdowns devastated the global travel and hospitality industry. 

But, things seem to now be getting back on track, as evidenced by the increasing number of people visiting the under-construction Great Trail.

According to Helambu Rural Municipality, the 60-kilometre trail has begun attracting scores of tourists. 

Encouraged by the rising number of visitors, rural municipality chair Nima Gyalzen Hyolmo informed that they planned to bring in 1 million more. 

When complete, the trail will extend from Paki Danda to Buddha Park and pass through Bhimathang, Dhukpu, Ama Yangri and Shermathang. Trekkers walking the route will be able to see mountain ranges, including Mount Everest, hilly settlements, ancient monasteries and countless religious sites.

 It is expected to take nine days to cover the whole trail which will start at an altitude of 2,400 metres above sea level and end at 5,000 metres above sea level. 

Semisidhang, one of the stops on the trail, is also only one kilometre away from the famous pilgrimage site of Gosaikunda.

Out of the total 60 kilometres though, only three kilometres have so far been constructed. An estimated Rs. 4 billion is required to complete the trail. However, chairman Hyolmo said that the local government could not allocate more than Rs. 10 million a year for the construction. “We have to focus on education, health and infrastructure,” he said, asking the federal government to declare the trail a multi-year project and allocate Rs. 500 million for it annually.

“This trail will benefit not only Helambu but the whole country,” he said, asking the provincial government to invest in it too. He also informed that Rs. 90 million had been spent so far on constructing the trail. 

Furthermore, Hyolmo claimed that, if the roads were blacktopped, people would be able to reach the trail in two and a half hours from the capital Kathmandu.