Tsum Valley with Manaslu Trek

One of our officials will greet you at the Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, upon your arrival. We will take you to the hotel in our private tourist vehicle. Pre-trip meeting will be done and you will meet with your trip guide. Make sure to confirm your queries about trekking in the mountains.

At around 9 am we start a guided tour to several ancient, historical, and spiritual sites in Kathmandu. These sites are listed in UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. We visit the historic Patan Durbar Square, the sacred Hindu temple of Pashupatinath, the famous ‘Monkey Temple’ (Swayambhunath), and the Buddhists shrine, the Bouddhanath.

Later after the sightseeing program, we will introduce you to your trekking guide and have a small pre-trip meeting at the hotel.
After the meeting, last-minute trekking equipment or bargain for your souvenirs at the many stores. We advise you to pack your things and set up for your Tsum Valley and Manaslu Trekking, which is practically starting tomorrow morning. Stay overnight in Kathmandu. Accommodation: Hotel. Meal: Breakfast.

After crossing the Machha River and Khrolabesi, we will pass through the hot springs at Tatopani. The trail follows a forested area until we cross the Dovan Khola, from where we will make our way to the Budhi Gandaki Valley. With white sandy areas along the riverside, the scenery undergoes a drastic transformation as the elevation increases until we reach Jagat. Overnight at Guesthouse

In Jagat, we have to complete the ACAP procedure. In the early part of our trek, we ascend over a rocky ridge to Salleri and descend to Sirdibas through the flat-level path. The valley widens a bit as the trail continues up to Ghatta Khola. Continue upstream to a long simple hanging bridge and climb up to Philim. Philim is a big village mainly inhabited by the Gurungs. Philim valley is well known for its Japanese-made school and police station. Walk past Philim to the north across a forest with the views of the narrowing valley. We reach Chisopani.Overnight at Guesthouse

Leaving Chisopani, we cross the gorge and walk for about half an hour, which offers a big and beautiful waterfall view. This day is challenging as it is an ascending path that stretches almost the entire route. Entering through the pine and rhododendron tree forest, we descend to the trail which leads us to Tsum Valley. En route, you can see the panoramic views of the Mountains. Continuing our walk, we pass through a small beautiful village called Lokpa. It is along the old trail route.

From Lokpa, we have to descend for half an hour up to Lungwa Khola and then climb on a zigzag trail for a further two hours north through pines and rhododendrons until we reach Gumlung. After crossing the Siyar Khola, we finally arrive at Chumling. It is the lower Tsum valley. Chumling is located on the south face of the Shingri Himal, from where we can see an eye-catching view of Shringi Himal. You can also visit the old Chumling Gompa and the stone streets of the village. Overnight at Guesthous

After breakfast at Chumling, we carry out our walk towards Chokhangparo by crossing the suspension bridge on the river’s opposite bank. The scenic views of the valley and views of Ganesh Himal amply compensate for today’s walk. Then we traverse through the rich farming land of maize and potatoes. The houses are classic Tibetan with barricades of firewood on the roof but without flat roofs, as it rains and snows here. Cross a huge slip where rocks and flood cleared the area even up onto the opposite bank, killing five in 1999, but is now covered with a forest of new trees.

Up the valley to the east are superb views of several of the 7000-7400m Ganesh Himal, of long suspension bridges on the opposite bank, and far above the perched village of Ripchet (2468m). Passing through Rainjam and crossing Serpu Khola, we climb for over two hours on well-graded but exposed track to upper Tsum and the join villages of Chokhangparo, stone houses with a few iron roofs nestled under cliffs. Chokhangparo is situated on flat land and consists of 2 settlements, Chokhang and Paro. If the weather permits, enjoy the views of Himalchuli (7893m) and Ganesh Himal (7140m). Some households practice polyandry down here. This area is prominent for its Tibetan Buddhist heritage.Overnight at Guesthouse

We savor the view of Lumbo peak, Himal Chuli, and the fantastic view of Ganesh Himal I, II, and IV as we start the trek today.

We walk past water driven prayer wheel at Tanju and continue through a dense pine forest full of faunas. Finally, we contour high above Syar Khola and get to Dumje village. The trail then plunges to Sarphu River, a feeder of the Siyar River.
We cross the suspension bridge over the Sarphu River and enter the main trail via Ripchet village. As we climb up to Gho Village, we see arresting view of Buddha Peak. We have lunch at Gho village, and now it is about two hours final walk to Chhokang Paro Village.

We arrive on a plateau covered with pines, and Chortens announce the arrival at the villages of Chhokang and Paro. Chhokang Paro is also popularly known as Chhekampar (which means the place of wisdom). Here the valley stretches, and the stone houses lean against the cliff to allow full use of the available land for farming. Accommodation: Local lodge

A moderately easy walk today as we walk through the spacious valley through several settlements, several Gompas, a lot of Chortens, and mani walls. We reach Ngakyu Leru, a village with abundant farming land with wheat, buckwheat, mustard, potatoes, and apples!
We will take the trail via Lamagaon instead of the trail via Ranchen Gompa because we plan to visit Ranchen Gompa leisurely on our trek back. Otherwise, we can also reach Ranchen Gompa crossing the suspension bridge over Syar Khola from Ngakyu Leru village.

While trekking via Lamagaon, we discover its great monastery, whose beautiful gilding we notice from a distance as it shines. If interested, we can go to Burji Village and the Milarepa (Piren Phu) cave, and the Chi Phu Gompa.

Little after Burji Village, we cross a suspension bridge and take through the next side of Syar Khola. Then the trail proceeds to Phurwa and Pangdun Monastery, with its large prayer wheel.

An imposing gate and stupa mark the entrance to the large village of Chule.

If we are one with a genuine interest in Buddhism, we also will visit Gonhgye Gompa at Chule, the main monk here is a bonanza of information. A waterfall is there traversing the Gonhgye Gompa. Ahead we walk through long mani walls with cravings of Milarepa. After Nile, we can walk up the side of the valley close to a monastery rested on a cliff. If the weather is clear, watching the sunset over the mountain would be a fabulous experience to see the Himalayas in their exploding majesty.
Accommodation: Teahouse

We have breakfast relatively early before starting our walk towards Mu Gompa. Mu Gompa, the last inhabited village of Tsum Valley, is located gracefully above the Syar Khola, which is about 2 hours' walk from the Nile Village. The panorama here is inspiring, and the monks are friendly.

Traversing the monastery gives us a prospect to peep into the religious books and beautiful statues of Avalokiteshwara, Guru Padmasambhava Tara. The scenery of encompassing yak meadows is serene, and the view of the Longnang Glacier is gorgeous.

We also visit Dhephu Doma Gompa, a 600-year-old nunnery where we see ancient Thankas. We cherish the spectacular view of the Ganesh Himal pyramid throughout this high valley. We make short walks to the ridges above up to Dupchet if weather permits and visibility is clear.

We can do an optional hike to Bhajyo, and we can also make a day trip to the Nepal-Tibet border at Nueladajyen Bhanjyang at 5093 meters, but we need an extra day for it.

Note: We can also walk from Nile to Mu Gompa for a short visit and then trek back to Nile. But we suggest you allow a full day to explore Mu Gompa and the valley above. Also, if you are interested in exploring the Nepal-Tibet border high above to Nueladajyen Bhanjyang, Chhekya, please let us know at the time of the trip planning; you will need an additional day for this.
Accommodation: Teahouse

Today, we take more time to explore around Mu Gompa and then trek down to Ranchen Gompa.

Wandering from Mu Gompa through the middle valley is gratifying to experience. We trek down via Chule, Pangdun, Phurbe, and Lar villages. From Lar village, we reach the impressive Rachhen Gompa in about 4 hours. Ranchen Gompa, a nunnery of the Nagk-pa sect established in 1905, houses 1000 terracotta images of Avalokiteshowra (Chenresing) and other idols narrating to Mahayana Buddhism. The rich interior painted with murals portrays Buddhism and its history.
We can either spend the night at Ranchen Gompa or can go to Lamagaun for the night's rest. Accommodation: Teahouse

Starting the trek early is better as we have a good bit of distance to cover today. We trek from Ranchen Gompa/Lamagaun through the village of Chhokung and Paro and hike to Domje. We can have early lunch at Domje.
We then climb firmly, crossing two high bridges over deep narrow gorges up to Ripchet. This farming village is situated far above Siyar river on a ridge and looks poorer than other villages of Tsum. Nevertheless, we enjoy the barley and buckwheat fields of Ripchet village and its Chortens in the contour of the pine forest.

Then, we descend carefully to Gumlung at the bank of Sarli River. After crossing Sarli River, we walk through the undulating trail and then take the final ascent through the beautiful temperate forest back to Lokpa. A lot of ascents and descents walks are there today so, we have a long day today!

Lokpa is a pleasant village from where we will take the fork towards Manaslu trail tomorrow. The big green village on the flat plateau high above the Budhi Gandaki on the opposite side is Nyak village. Accommodation: Teahouse

Leaving Lokpa, we cross the Budhi Gandaki River on a steel Bailey's bridge and walk north towards the Manaslu trail. We leave the trail to Nyak (we can opt to take the arduous route via Nyak village too) on the left, and we ascend gradually along a wide, hillside trail into an open pine forest. We cross the river two more times over steel suspension bridges and walk through a dense forest full of rhododendrons, bamboo, and wildflowers. As we climb, we should not miss looking back for beautiful views of Ganesh Himal IV.
After about an hour of moderately easy climbing, we leave the cramped gorge, cross the Deng Khola on a suspension bridge, and then climb briefly to the settlement of Deng. We have views of the Ganesh Himal to our back and Lapuchen and Dwijen Himal to the north.
Ahead of Deng, we descend steeply and get to Rana Village. We then climb through the beautiful pine forest, and after crossing the bridge, we reach Bihi Phedi. We see an impressive view of Kutang Himal from here. We see very artistic mani stones today along the trail, indicating that we are entering a Buddhism-influenced region in Manaslu.
Accommodation: Teahouse.

Relishing views of Kutang Himal, we leave Bihi Phedi. Little ahead, we reach Bihi village and see very artistic mani stones, a sign that indicates we are entering again on a Buddhism-influenced area of high Himalaya. These particular mani stones were carved by stone carvers from Bihi Village. At the foothills of Sringi Himal, Serang Gompa (3100m) is one of Guru Rimpoche’s universal mediation sites.
Leaving Ghap, we scale up for two hours through a dense, cool forest of fir, rhododendron, bamboo and oaks, crossing the now narrow Budhi Gandaki twice on newly built suspension bridges, and continue to climb, often on smooth, stone steps. We might notice Danphe, the national bird of Nepal, or grey langurs with their long tails along the trail in the forest.
Today, we reach the alpine territory and we treat ourselves with broad mountain views. We eventually come to Namrung, the first village in Nubri, a region of purely Tibetan inhabitants speaking a dialect of western Tibet. Nupri means ‘western ridge’ or ‘western mountains’ in the local.Accommodation: Local lodge

Past Namrung, we walk through extensive barley fields and pastures and reach the settlement of Banjam. Again after climbing steeply, we reach the picturesque village of Lihi (2920m). The walk today pleases us early due to the impressive views of Ngadi Himal and Manaslu North.

Soon upon reaching the Chorten we enter the beautiful village of Sho. We walk past beautiful, billowing fields of vibrant green buckwheat, wheat, and barley. We see spectacular views of Ngadi Chuli from Sho. Sho also houses two monasteries.
One more small descent out of Sho, and after crossing a small stream, we reach the tiny hamlet of Shrip where we may see local women busy weaving colorful rungs.

We now take a short but steep climb up to the village of Lho with a new Chorten. Lho is a lively, green, sprawling village adorned with prayer flags where we will find local women weaving on their wooden looms. The Lho village houses colorful Nyingma Rimjung Gompa where more than 100 monks study. We may take some time to explore the Lho village, its ancient mani stones, beautiful chortens in the backdrop of spectacular Mt. Manaslu.
Ahead we walk past rolling barley fields. We descend, cross a small stream on wooden bridges, and then ascend through light forests next to a small river until we reach a small hydroelectric hut. From here we’ll hike up through a pine forest. Soon we reach Hong Sangbu Gompa which is by Musithang Kharka, a seasonal herding spot and has fantastic views of the surrounding peaks.
We descend just a bit to an old mill where local women of Shayla are often roasting barley and grinding it to make tsampa. Next, we reach the high, idyllic summer settlement of Shayla. Shyala is a hamlet of new lodges and old summer houses from where we can see extensive mountain panoramas.Accommodation: Local lodge

We cross a stream that is the drainage from the Pung Gyen Glacier and then ascend next to the small stream. We now take a side trip to get to Pung Gyen monastery, which sits beautifully at the backdrop of Mt. Manaslu. We walk carefully through the often icy, slippery path via Numla Khola and the lateral moraine of the Pung Gyen glacier. Looking down the valley, the views over blue, glacial lakes and this massive, sand and boulder-strewn glacier look supernatural! We see grand views of Mount Manaslu once we get nearby to the monastery.

An avalanche destroyed Pung Gyen Monastery in 1953, and the current structure is after the restoration. The monastery area also includes a cave gompa which provides an even better vista of the valley. After enjoying the panorama, we return to the main Manaslu trail and walk to Sama Gaun.

Sama Gaun (3660m) is a relatively larger village on the Manaslu Circuit trek that sits at the base of Mount Manaslu. Settled by Tibetan origin people, the residents are Buddhist. We can see the prayer wheels, mani stones, and Ribung monastery at the village, signifying the sincere Buddhist faith of the residents of Sama Gaun. Tibetan Buddhism is the way of life in these high mountain settlements.

We can wander through the pathways of Sama. We can observe its stone houses with wooden decks and shingles that look similar to the houses of Lho and Lihi villages. Tibetan origin people have been living here elevated stone houses with animal pens underneath their homes. Most families make a living growing barley and potatoes for three months of the summer, and the rest of the year, they trade with lower villages and Tibet. Yaks and dzobkios share the narrow passages with small waterways running in the middle and planks to bridge the two sides. We feel like we have gone back into time when we wander around these settlements.Accommodation: Local Teahouse

An acclimatization day at Sama Gaun allows our body to acclimatize with the thin air environment before proceeding to higher elevations.
We might want to rest today, but we should remain active and trek to higher elevations per the high altitude acclimatization rule. We will go towards Glacial Birendra lake for a short acclimatization hike.
If we have a lot of energy and interest to explore more, we can also to Manaslu Base Camp which is about 7-8 hours of walk.
An early start is good for the best views and avoids snow burn due to sunlight reflected by the glacier. The trail offers fantastic views of Manaslu Glacier, Birendra lake, and the typical village Samagaun. During the Manaslu climbing period, we will find Manaslu Base Camp all colorful with climbers, guides/sherpas, porters, and tents.
As we walk towards the base camp and gain altitude, the Himalayan landscape becomes more sensational with the nearest glacier, Manaslu peak, Naike Peak, and the views of surrounding hills. The final part of the trip is to climb between 4400-4800m, which is steeper with snow and ice (depending upon season). After reaching Manaslu Base Camp at 4800m, we feel like being in the abode of mountains. We trek back to Sama Gaun for the overnight rest.Accommodation: Local Teahouse

We can savor the stunning view of sunrise over Mt. Manaslu and other mountains if we wake up early.

Today's walk is short so that we can leave Samagaun leisurely. We cross a small bridge and walk west towards Manaslu Base Camp and Birendra Lake along the lateral moraine. We walk up through the woods on a dirt trail, past juniper, birch, and rhododendron, we see the lake below us, and we get closer to the impressive icefall of the Manaslu Glacier. We trek more to over 4000 meters to help acclimatization.

After crossing a brook and heading north, we trek past the rough woods of Himalayan birch during the walk up to Samdo. We pass by the left side of the long Mani walls at Kyonggma Kharka and eventually spot Chorten of Samdo. We walk back to the Budhi Gandaki and cross a small bridge leading to a short climb to Samdo.
Similar to Sama Gaun, the inhabitants of Samdo are Tibetan descendants. We will have plenty of time to walk around the village where the inhabitants live an inherently Tibetan lifestyle, looking after their sheep, yaks, goats, horses, and barley fields. There is also a small monastery in Samdo.Overnight at Guesthouse,

Today is a short day. We leave Samdo and follow the old trade route towards the Tibet border.
We cross a small bridge and climb west above the ruins of Larkya Bazaar. We walk past meadows, grassy plateaus filled with lichened stones, dwarf juniper bushes, and rhododendron. The landscape becomes more and more beautiful. Finally, we see the stunning views of Glacier on the other side of the valley that tumbles down from Manaslu and Manaslu North peaks.
Finally, we arrive at Dharmasala, the high camp for the Larkya La pass. We might spot herds of blue sheep in the barren slopes nearby. The temperature here is freezing, so it would be better we spend a relaxed afternoon and help keep ourselves warm.
But if we want, we can hike up either of the ridges surrounding Samdo valley or hike up alongside the small spring-fed stream back of the teahouse and enjoy the birds, marmots, blue sheep, etc.
We can see impressive views of Naike Peak to the south and the tip of Manaslu in the front. Tomorrow is a big day, and we need to start very early, so we will sleep early after dinner.Accommodation: Local lodg

We start our trek early at dawn. First, we walk about half an hour on a relatively easy track; then we walk along the right side of the lateral moraine of the Larkye Glacier and then through the narrow bottom of the valley. We then reach the ablation valley on the northside of the Larkye Glacier, from where we will have views of Ganesh Himal I on the east and Larkye peak to the west.
We walk across the undulating glacial moraine, which is often snowy. In about two hours' we reach a small hut at 4920. From here, its about two more hours to reach the top of Larkye pass, walking past small ridges, a frozen lake. The last section to the top is steeper. As we reach the top of Larkya La, the sublime panorama treats us.
Looking back we see Samdo peak and peaks bordering Tibet and Larkye peak on the southeast. On the west rises Kang Guru, Himlung Himal, Cheo Himal, and Gyagi Kung and Annapurna II.
We savor the panorama despite the wind and then start ascending through a razor-edge ridge followed by a steep drop. The trail here is often slippery and icy. We then follow the left side of the Salpu Danda Glacier moraine through a ragged path.
We find a spot to eat our packed lunch before traversing downhill with another steep section ahead. As we are descending, we again start seeing meadows with dwarf rhododendron, primulas, and azalea. Finally, after about three hours of strenuous downhill walk, we reach the beautiful hamlet of Bimthang.

We might see blue sheep, pika, marmot and Tibetan snow-cock tracks in the snow, and even snow leopard's paw prints today! Accommodation: Local lodgee

The route gets easier. We start with a gentle climb through paddy fields towards the small Karcha La Pass and descend through fig trees and rhododendron forests to Tilje.

Today, we shall trek down to Dharapani then we shall drive to Kathmandu by private vehicle.

We hop onto a 4WD vehicle to reach Kathmandu via Besisahar. The road is rough and bumpy up to Besisahar and smoother from then. Enjoying the sceneries of hills and rivers along the highway, we reach Kathmandu after 8 to 9 hours of drive.

The trip concludes – our airport representative will drop you at the Kathmandu international airport for your final flight departure from Nepal.

meal Breakfast included