Tsum Valley Trek 18 Days

Tsum Valley Trek Overview

Tsum Valley area is considered to be a holy Himalayan pilgrimage valley geographically perched in the northern Gorkha district of Nepal. 'Tsum' is a derivation from the Tibetan word 'Tsombo', which means ‘vivid’. Stories of yore say that Tsum Valley was a distinct geographical area called 'Tsum Tso Chucksums', which means ‘thirteen provinces ruled as a single territory. Whatever the history of this ancient valley, we enjoy & experience the wonderful festivals of Lhosar, Dhachyhang, Saka Dawa & Fanning among a host of other ancient festivities celebrated hereabouts. The Tsum people have their way of family life, which may be quite surprising for many outsiders. All the brothers in the family are married to a single girl, what you may call a practice of polyandry.

We begin this venture with a scenic overland trip to Macha Khola, a riverbank local hub & a business junction of sorts, where we start our actual trek up its gorge, as we plod over numerous hillocks through hospitable villages where the local folks even invite us over for some ‘Chay’ {butter tea} or even a hot local meal. At a little town called Philim, we turn east, over a ridge of pine and rhododendron forest, to find our way into the narrow Lower Tsum Valley. The broader upper valley lies in a north-south direction which we will happily explore for six superb days.

The Tsum Valley trail brings us to Nupri “the western mountains” through bamboo forests to Around the Manaslu Circuit trail offering views of Himal Chuli (7893m), Ngadi Chuli (7873m), and Manaslu at (8156m) that become the roots for the glaciers that flow from their flanks. In the village of Samagaon, we visit the quiet Kargu Choling Monastery and Pungyen Gompa which are wonderful to visit on the way. A high trail from this point leads us to the Manaslu Base Camp. We also come across Mu Gompa & Rachen Gompa which is a nunnery, if you feel so you can go in & interact with these young nuns; you will get some pleasant surprises. Views from this point into Tibet are simply out of this world!! Along the Tsum Valley, we also visit the village of Chekampar with its slated roof stone houses that rest against a cliff; the local folks grow barley, maize, buckwheat & potatoes hereabouts.

The holy valley conserves the steps of the great Buddhist Yogi Chyuchin Milarepa and the story about Guru Padmasambhava's circumambulation is sometimes told late into the night. The local folks hereabouts are known to never slaughter animals, even if it’s for appeasing the gods. And the gods seem to appreciate this act as the fauna are found full & plenty in this region. This quiet but otherwise stunning Valley is surrounded by the Buddha Himal and Himal Chuli to the west, Ganesh Himal to the south, and Sringi Himal to the Nort seemingly protecting this peaceful valley from the penetrable powers of evil, and finally, get back to Kathmandu via Arughat Bazaar.