Of the 120,000 or so trekkers who visit Nepal every year, only 5 percent go beyond the Annapurna, Langtang, and Everest regions. That’s just 6,000 trekkers actually trekking off the beaten path.

Since we at Embark are always seeking out the path less traveled (i.e. we climb the least-traveled Lemosho Route up Mt. Kilimanjaro), we are thrilled to announce that Nepal is about to open both the world’s longest and highest alpine trekking route as part of their Nepal Tourism Year 2011 initiative.

Called the Great Himalayan Trail, this route–officially opening in January 2011–will spread out across 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers), allowing adventurers to explore the far reaches of the Himalayan region. Eventually, this trail will connect several countries:

“The long-term aim is to connect the six Asian countries of Pakistan, China (Tibet Autonomous Region), India, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar via a route covering more than 4,500 km of the Great Himalaya range,” said Lisa Choegyal, consultant to the project and Honorary Consul designate for New Zealand in Nepal.

Highlights of the route include views of the world’s 14 highest peaks, winding along the sacred headwaters of the Ganges in India, traversing the entire length of Nepal in the shadows of Annapurna, Everest, and Kanchenjunga, and dabbling in Myanmar and Tibet as well.

Technically the GHT, as it is being called, already exists in the form of several old and new routes. This recent unveiling and naming is the result of better connecting and mapping these routes for the world’s most ambitious trekkers.

See pics and stories from various portions of the trail here, and learn more about the Nepal section through trekker Robin Boustead’s stunning documentation of his journey in 2008, when he covered an upper section of 1,000 miles, a high-altitude portion that mixes high passes with alpine valleys. His guidebook is set for a 15 November 2010 release.