2023 Emerging Trail Leaders

Emerging Trail Leader Scholarship Recipient

Pranil Upadhayaya

Kathmandu, Bagmati, Nepal

Nepal including India, Bhutan, Tibet, and Pakistan in South and East Asia is the home of the Great Himalaya Trails (GHT) with over 4500 km of Great Himalaya ranges. Today the GHT in Nepal is a diversified network of trails with roughly divided into two main routes: the 1700 Km long High Route, which winds through high mountain ranges with an average altitude of 3000 – up to 6000 meter and the Low Route (also referred to as the Cultural Route), which wends its way 1500 Km through mid-hills between 1500 and 2500 meter.

Nepal and South Asia’s GHT, is at beginning of its progression for the safety, quality, standards, and positive socio-economic and environmental implications in order to make it (a) impressive for the trail users' meaningful experience and (b) inclusive and increasingly benefactor to local communities with their resilience to climate change.

Since AT is globally position with its leading and growing roles for trail development, quality assurance, funding, and advocacy; my participation in AT’s 25th ITS will give a great opportunity for learning, building relationships, networking, global exchange, find common solutions, collaboration for integrated efforts, and come up with actionable outcomes.

However, my poor affordability from a low-income country (Nepal) for registration, accommodation, and travel to and from USA is bottleneck to participate and both give and take knowledge, skills, and interpretation at this high event. Hence, scholarship is vital for the inclusion of participant like me in the trail universe.