Humla is the most remote district in Nepal, and one of the poorest. It's also the most sparsely populated part of the country. The combination of state neglect and bad press (when did you last read something good about Humla?) means there are few tourists, and you'll meet most of them in or headed to the border town of Hilsa, a stepping stone to Mount Kailash in Tibet. All the better for you to enjoy the wonders of Humla at your leisure. You won't regret it; locals will appreciate the fact that you have sidestepped the more obvious destinations in the Everest and Annapurna regions. There are not many jobs going in Humla, and your visit could well make the difference between a family migrating to India or the Gulf and their setting up a profitable teahouse on the trail.
The trek
The trek
Humla is a land of extremes. Simikot, spread out on a flattened hilltop amidst a colourful harvest expanse of fields, lies at 2900m. From here the newly designated Great Himalaya Trail follows the old salt trading route to Tibet between the towering green monoliths of the sisnoo-infested Hindu midlands up to the arid expanses of our version of the Tibetan plateau, all the while accompanied by the roaring quicksilver of the magnificent Karnali. You'll pass occasional tight clusters of mud-packed, flat-roofed houses where women with heavy gold & silver jewellery embroidered with colourful beads belie the obvious, all-pervading poverty. Thakuri men lead flocks of long-haired, impressively horned goats up and down the muddy trail on their way to and from Tibet.
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