Sikkim’s Great Himalayan Trail: the 500-km trek connecting 18 mountain villages

The Great Himalayan Trail of Sikkim, now in its fifth season, stitches 500 kilometres of mountain path through 18 villages, each with community-managed homestays and trained guides.

The trail is designed to spread tourism income beyond the famous few sights: trekkers sleep in school buildings converted to guest houses and eat food grown by their hosts.

The model is fragile — altitude, weather and permits all bite — but villages along the route report incomes that have changed winter for good.