Apa Sherpa, 51, who is nicknamed “Super Sherpa” because of his great mountaineering feat. had reached Taplejung on Monday accompanied by Dawa Steven Sherpa, who summited Mt. Everest twice, and other members of his team to set out on a voyage named the Great Himalayan Trail-Climate Smart Celebrity Trek (GHT-CSCT).

The Great Himalayan Trail (GHT) is a long distance walking trail along the length of the Himalayas in Nepal envisaged under GHT Development Program led by Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation. GHT is likely to help channeling tourists and pro-poor tourism investments to less visited and under developed districts of Nepal.

The Climate Smart Celebrity Trek (CSCT) is being organized to raise global awareness on the impacts of Climate Change in the Himalayas and showcase how sustainable tourism can be used as a tool for poverty reduction and to build climate-resilience among impoverished mountain communities.

According to the organisers of the event, the Great Himalaya Trail-Climate Smart Celebrity Trek (GHT-CSCT) will traverse some of the most rugged and breathtaking mountain landscapes on earth and will pass beneath eight of the world’s highest peaks. It will start at Ghunsa in Taplejung district and end in Darchula in Far Western Nepal.

It will cut through 20 districts in the mid-hills and low mountains of Nepal, many of which have been reported as vulnerable to Climate Change impacts according to the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) report.

The organisers said the GHT-CSCT will also invite global celebrities such as Hollywood and Bollywood stars, celebrities from the world of entertainment, television and sports, famous mountaineers, politicians, environmental activists, researchers, local and global media to join Apa Sherpa and Dawa Steven Sherpa on GHT-CSCT.

President Dr Ram Baran Yadav had last week bid farewell to Appa Sherpa and his team who left on their four-month east to west trek along the Great Himalayan Trail. nepalnews.com