| Trip code | |
| Package name | Tsum Valley Trek |
| Duration | 16 |
| Max. elevation | 3700 m |
| Level | MODERATE |
| Transportation | Public Vehicle | Private Vehicle |
| Accomodation | Star Hotel | Lodge |
| Starts at | Kathmandu |
| Ends at | Kathmandu |
| Trip route | |
| Cost | USD 0 per person |
Tsum valley lies in the Northern part of Manaslu which is the remotest and restricted Himalayan valley of Nepal. Tsum Valley is also an alternate trekking track in Nepal where you can observe beautiful and ancient art, culture and religion of Tibetan people here. Tsum valley looks completely different from any other place and is surrounded by a magnificent range of Ganesh Himal, Sringi Himal and Boudha Himal. Tsum valley used to be an essential trade link with Tibet. Since it is a restricted zone and less expose than any other popular tourist area, only few travellers have visited this high and mystic valley.
Tsum valley is an unexplored place which is also known as the hidden valley. It is completely isolated from modern development. This place was opened for tourism only in 2007 by the Government of Nepal and is so untouched that much religious and archaeological evidence is still the same as it was 1000 years ago. People still practice the polyandry systems (all the brothers from the family get married to the same girl) and follow unique cultures and traditions. They have their own dialect as well. Tsum valley people’s main festivals are Lhosar, Sake Dawa, and Dhacyhang. Tsum valley separates Nepal from Tibet. This valley is surrounded by Buddha Himal, Himalchuli, Ganesh Himal, and SringiHimal.
The trek starts from Arughat and ends also at Arughat. It takes a seven-hour drive from Kathmandu to reach Arughat. At first, you will ascend the Budhi Gandaki valley from where you can have a beautiful view of green dense forest, terraced fields and hill villages. The path of Budhi Gandaki is not challenging it is one of the good paths of the trek. As you enter the Tsum Valley you will feel like you are in a hidden valley for real, and this feeling will be one of the most beautiful experiences. Throughout the trek, you will see stunning scenarios of Alpine and Rhododendron forests, glacial rivers and many more beauties of nature. You will also enjoy the warm hospitality of the local people of the region where you will feel overwhelmed. We will also visit the ancient Gombas (Rachen Gompa, Mu Gompa, and Dephyudonma Gompa) of the region.
Tsum Valley is a remote area of Nepal so you can’t find options food there, you will eat whatever the valley offers you like Tibetan bread, Daal Bhat, Tsampa Porridge and other simple local food. You will have 3 meals per day. You will do your breakfast and lunch at the same teahouse where you stay at night and you will do your lunch on the way to your destination in tea shop.
You can find comfortable lodges and guesthouses in Tsum Valley. We can also spend our night in a tent in which we will provide you with a tent, mattress and sleeping bag so that you can be more comfortable and warm to sleep at night.
On the trek, you will not find facilitated toilets so that temporary toilet will be nearby your tent. After the use of such a toilet wastes will be covered by necessary natural preservation.
The weather should be favourable to complete any trek otherwise you will face many problems just because of bad weather. March to May and September to November is the best season to visit Tsum valley. In this season you can have a magnificent view of the clear blue sky and mountains. We do not recommend our visitors to visit Tsum valley in the winter season and rainy season.
When you arrive at Tribhuwan International Airport, a representative from Open Trail will be there holding your group name or leader name. He will taxi you to drop off you at the hotel. After checking in, you are welcome to rest or visit Open Trail’s office in Thamel, which is located in the heart of a major shopping district. In the evening, there will be a welcome dinner hosted by Open Trail Treks, where you will be served authentic Nepalese cuisine. This is a great introduction to Nepalese food and culture.
We will begin our second day with breakfast before starting a guided tour to some of the historical and religious sites of Kathmandu, which are listed as World Heritage Sites. We will visit Kathmandu Darbar Square, Buddhist Stupa (Buddha Nath), and Hindus secret temple, Pashupatinath. We will end our tour by visiting the Monkey temple – Swayambhunath. In the middle of the tour, we will take you to a very special local restaurant for lunch. After we finish the tour we will meet our trekking guide and leader for discussion and preparation for our upcoming days of trekking.
After early morning breakfast, we’ll drive for 7 to 8 hours. In this journey, we drive for 3 hours through Nepal’s busiest highway, the Prithivi Highway. This drive offers a fabulous view of greenery, rice paddies, and local villages along this hilly region. After 3 hours of driving, we reach DhadingBesi where we will have lunch. From here the paved road ends but our journey continues along the dirt road until we reach Arughat. As we arrive at Arughat we have to change to another bus taking us to SotiKhola. This drive takes an hour and a half. We will spend a restful evening in SotiKhola.
We begin our day after breakfast trekking through the Sal forest. The trail goes through several upward climbs and downhill passes through the rice terraces following the Budhigandagi River on our way to the Gurung settlement of Lapubesi. After a small climb through a rocky trail, we will arrive at the sandy bank of Budi Gandaki where the river gets much wider. Further following the sandy bank for some time we will climb uphill before descending downhill into Machhakhola. Overnight in Machhakhola.
Total Trekking Time: 6-7 hours
Our trek today begins with some uphill and downhill movements through another rocky trail toKhorlaBesi. During the walk, we can enjoy the fantastic view of Mt.Manaslu and other surrounding mountains. The same upward and downhill trail mix continues to Tatopani. From Tatopani, we climb over to Dovan and cross the suspension bridge. The rest of our trail weaves its way up and down many times. We will again cross another suspension bridge over YaruKhola to reach Jagat where we will spend a restful evening.
Total Trekking Time: 6-7 hours
We will resume our trekking via a trail leading down to the valley. We will cross a suspension bridge and descend further to the Gurung settlement at Philim. A very well-known school sponsored by the Japanese is located in Philim. As we trek further past Philim and through the small forest of the narrow valley we will arrive at Chisopani where we will spend our evening.
Total Trekking Time: 5-6 hours
We will head first toEklebhatti following the Budhigandagi at the northern side where we start to climb through the pine and rhododendron forests. As we reach the Lokpa we will be rewarded with the magnificent view of Himalchuli (7893m) and Buddha Himal. We will descend to the LungwaKhola and climb further to Chumling through the tall pine forest. From Chumling we can see the fantastic view of ShringiHimal. We can do a small sightseeing trip to the ChumlingGumpa and around the village. We will overnight inChumling.
Total Trekking Time: 6-7 hours
We trek onward passing villages, beautiful waterfalls, jungle, and wheat terraces to reach the small settlement of Gho. In between this walk, we can see the fantastic view of Ganesh Himal. Another two hours of uphill climbs through the pine and rhododendron forests will take us to the village of Chhokangparo. The wide valley of Chhokangparo offers us a magnificent view of Himalchuli(7893m) and Ganesh Himal (7140m). We will end our day and spend the night at Lamagau.
Total Trekking Time: 5 hours
We might start to feel altitude sickness from this area and may need to take our trekking a bit more slowly. This area is located in the alpine tundra region where we can see many of the alpine tundra family’s plants. We will trek further from here and cross the river twice, through the steady uphill to the Mu Gompa. At this point, we are very close to the Tibetan border. We will overnight in Mu Gompa.
Total Trekking Time: 3-4 hours
We spend our day exploring around Mu Gompa. Mu gompa has a spectacular view of the valley and the surrounding mountain. It is located in the highest part of the Tsum valley. We can spend time communicating with the monks and we can also visit the ChephudomaGompa.
We trek back passing through the settlements of Chhule, Phurba, Bhurgi village. As we arrived at Burgi village we can visit Milarepa’s cave. From the cave, we can enjoy the amazing scenery of KipuHimal and ChurkeHimal and also the T-sum valley. We will trek further through the valley to Chhokangparo where we will spend a restful evening.
Total Trekking Time: 5-6 hours
We will descend down through pine forests down to the Sarpu River and cross the suspension bridge over the river. We will trek further through the beautiful greenery and scenery of fields and some small settlements on our way to Chumling. Further along our trail, we will drop down to the river and ascend up through the pine and rhododendron forests before dropping down to the small village of Lokpa where we will lodge for the evening.
Total Trekking Time: 5-6 hours
We will start our day with a descent through the forests of pine and rhododendron. We will come across intermittent small portions of flat land before Philim. The trail descends down to the river will lead us to a suspension bridge, from where a gentle path takes us to Jagat. Further continuing the descent takes us to the Yaruphant. From Yaruphant we move forward to Dobhan and Tatopani. Another hour of the trek will take us to the camp of Khorlabesi where we will spend our evening.
Our trail will be a mix of up and down following the BudhiGandagi River to MachhaKhola. We will trek further to LapuBesi following alongside the river. The rocky trail further leads us to Khursane where another hour walk by the side of BudhiGandagiRiver will lead us back to SotiKhola. We will overnight inSotiKhole.
Total Trekking Time:- 6-7 hours
Today we can either drive back or trek through the beautiful valley passing through the lovely villages. As we arrive at Arught, we check-in with our permit to finish our trekking. From Arughat, we will head to Kathmandu Valley by motorized transportation. It will take 7 hours to reach Kathmandu which also includes 4 hours off the main road. We will enjoy the beautiful scenery throughout the drive as we rest following a fulfilling trek in the mountains. In the evening, we will have dinner at a traditional restaurant hosted by Open Trail Treks.
Total Trekking Time: 4 hours and Drive: 7-8 hours
It’s the last day of your adventure and you are welcome to have breakfast with us. After breakfast, if you have time before your flight you can do some shopping or go sightseeing. If you want to go sightseeing inform us a day earlier and we will help provide you with a car. When your adventure is coming to a close, a representative from Open Trail Treks will drop you at the airport 3 hours before your flight.