Walking the Great Himalayan Trail

Annapurna South, 7219 metres high, in the ACA. Two thirds of trekkers in Nepal head here
Photograph: Ed Douglas

A farmer ploughing rice paddies in the Annapurna region. The trek takes in eco-systems from sub-tropical jungle to fragile high-altitude environments
Photograph: Ed Douglas

Religious chortens in the western Nepali district of Mugu. Last summer only a dozen or so trekkers visited this area
Photograph: Ed Douglas

Everest, known to Tibetans as Chomolungma and with the official Nepali name of Sagarmatha. The Sagarmatha National Park is the second-most popular trekking region in Nepal. The GHT passes close to the mountain’s southern base camp
Photograph: Ed Douglas

The village of Ghandruk in the Annapurna Conservation Area. Construction of a new road along part of the Annapurna Circuit has worried some locals that tourism will be damaged
Photograph: Ed Douglas

A mist-shrouded peak above Kyanjin Gompa in the Langtang National Park. Langtang is the third most popular trekking destination, and an excellent introduction to Himalayan walking
Photograph: Ed Douglas

The Great Himalayan Trail crosses one of its most difficult passes to reach the Langtang National Park, Tilman’s Pass (5,301m), named after the British mountain explorer HW Tilman, the first Westerner to explore the region in 1949
Photograph: Ed Douglas

Prayer, or ‘mani’ stones in the Langtang National Park. The region is home to the Buddhist Tamang people. The Sanskrit mantra, reads ‘Om Mani Padme Hum’ and is carved in Tibetan script – Hail to the Jewel Lotus
Photograph: Ed Douglas

The Great Himalayan Trail, where it drops down from Dolpo, the region of Nepal made famous by Peter Matthiessen in the Snow Leopard, into Mugu
Photograph: Ed Douglas

Mugu is the poorest district in Nepal, and is also home to a large number of unclimbed mountains, including all the peaks in this photograph
Photograph: Ed Douglas

An old ethnic Tibetan trader in Mugu, western Nepal. One of the few remaining ancient trans-Himalayan trade routes passes through Mugu, with large caravans of yaks bringing goods over the border, still three days’ walk north of this point. Most people head south in winter, when snow blocks the pass
Photograph: Ed Douglas

A woman cutting crops in Jugal Himal, eastern Nepal. The GHT passes Jugal Himal’s sacred lake, the Bhairab Kund
Photograph: Ed Douglas