SAMIR JUNG THAPA BIG SKY: The great Himalayan traverse has helped spread the word about trekking tourism to lift living standards in neglected remote regions of Nepal, like this village below Mt Machapuchre where farmers get ready to sow maize.

It took them 99 days to traverse 1,555 horizontal kilometres and possibly a couple of hundred vertical kilometres from one end of Nepal to the other. But when they finished recently, the four-member team led by 21-time Mt Everest summiteer, Apa Sherpa, said he came to appreciate

Nepal's unity in its diversity. The trekkers magnified the overwhelming desire among the people they met along the way for peaceful coexistence among communities and better living standards for their children. Nepalis all along the route wanted this message to go to the rulers in Kathmandu.

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The greatest Himalayan trail

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