Duration

22 Days

Trip Difficulty

Easy

Group Size

Unlimited

Trip Overview

If you are thinking of traveling to a culturally rich place with the beautiful Himalayan scenery in Nepal. Then Tsum valley Trek is probably the one for you. Hidden in the northern side of the Gorkha district, this valley is a jewel. Tsum valley is one of the remote areas of Nepal. Guru Rinpoche has described the valley as the valley of happiness. Thus, many people also called the valley the Tsum valley of Happiness.

A trek to this valley is a journey through the off-beaten trail that adorns natural beauty in its original attire. As you open up to the valley, you can see the stunning views of mountains like Ganesh Himal, Sringeri mountain, and Boudha mountain. This trek is also an opportunity to be at the base camp of Ganesh Himal. From the base camp, you can see the beautiful views of other mountains too.

As you walk through the trail, you will pass through some stunning forests and wild countryside landscapes. Your journey along the rocky terrain will give you some insights into the lifestyle of the local people residing in that area. On the way, you will see a cave which is popularly known as Milarepa cave. This cave has its mythology. People believe that it is the same cave where the Buddhist saint Milarepa did meditation and attain enlightenment. Besides, the ancient Rachen Gompa, Mu Gompa, and Nunnery gompa are unique highlights of this trek. When you visit the gompas you may find monks meditating and practicing the preaching of Lord Buddha. The trail is mostly decorated with Mani stones and prayer flags. These reflect the influence of the Buddhist religion.

Tsum valley Trek is a mystical journey. Your journey starts with a drive from Kathmandu valley to Sotikhola via Arughat. On the way, you pass through villages like Lobo Besi, Khola Besi, Jagat, Lokpa, Chumling, and Chhekampar to Lama Gaon. At Lama gaon, you visit many monasteries that hold the history of many centuries back. You may also visit Mu- gompa and ascend to a hill to visit Nunnery Gomba. You retrace back to Chekampar and follow a trail that takes you to the Ganesh Himal Base Camp. Finally, you wrap up your journey by retracing your steps back to Arughat via Yaru phat and LobuBesi.

So, are you ready to emerge into the unique combination of natural beauty, mountains, wilderness, and cultural richness? Join Himal Eco Treks to taste every bit of Tsum valley Trek.

Cost Include

  • Accommodation for nights spent at the hotel in Kathmandu inclusive of breakfast at the hotel.
  • All the road transport along with picking up and drop at the airport upon your arrival and departure.
  • Kathmandu Sightseeing tour inclusive of the entry fees, a travel guide, and a private vehicle.
  • Breakfast, lunch, and dinner during the trek.
  • Accommodation in guesthouses throughout trek wherever available and in tented camps where there is no accommodation facility.
  • An experienced guide and a porter to assist you throughout your journey.
  • Permit fees of Tsum valley and Lantang Conservation Area
  • Fees to be paid for Trekkers Information Management System – TIMS. (Note: You are required to bring two passport size photo for this purpose)
  • All other government fees and taxes.
  • First aid safety kit with basic medicines essential.
  • All the necessary trekking gear

Cost Exclude

  • Nepal Entry visa fees.
  • Meals (lunch, dinner) in the hotel in Cities
  • International Airfare
  • Snacks, soft drink during the trek
  • Personal trekking equipment is not provided by HET
  • Tips to the guide, porter, driver or any other trekking staff
  • Extra baggage charge

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival Day
As you arrive at the airport in Kathmandu, a representative from Himal Eco Trek will pick you up and escort you to the hotel for check-in. You will be explained about your plans ahead. Overnight at a hotel in Kathmandu.
Day 2: Sightseeing tour in Kathmandu
We start our day with a sightseeing tour around the Kathmandu. We visit the UNESCO listed heritage sites in Kathmandu. First, we visit the Kathmandu Durbar Square and then head towards Swayambhunath temple. Next, we visit Pashupatinath temple and conclude our tour admiring the stupa at Boudhanath. Overnight at hotel in Kathmandu.
Day 3: Drive to Sotikhola via Arughat
Your guide will pick you up at the hotel for an early drive towards Besisahar. The road from Kathmandu to Beshisahar is quite smooth and concrete. From Besisahar, we take a local jeep that will take us through a bumpy and rough trail to Sotikhola via Arughat. Overnight at a guesthouse in Soti Khola. It takes around 8 hours to reach Soti Khola. The first four hours of the drive goes smoothly while the next four hours’ drive is bumpy and dusty.
Day 4: Trek to Khorla Bensi
Today, we head towards the north and follow the Budhi Gandaki River for the whole day. During the whole day, we remain close to the river and ascend all the way up to the base of the Larkya pass. Leaving the pass, we cross and re-cross the river several times over the suspension bridges. As we follow our trail, it leads us to Lapu Beshi. We then continue on the sandy banks of the river along a zigzag path to reach Maccha Khola and then to Khorla Bensi. Overnight at a guesthouse in Khorla Bensi.
Day 5: Trek to Jagat
Our trail for the day remains quite easy in the morning as we move through Khorlabesi. We stop for a while at Tatopani, to explore the natural hot water springs here and continue walking through a forested path to Dobhan. From here, our trail down into the banks of the Yaru Khola at Yaru Beshi, and continue climbing up on a high path to the fields in Jagat. Overnight at a guesthouse in Jagat.
Day 6: Trek to Lokpa
Our trail moves uphill and then continues through a flat leveled path trail to sandy banks. The path then gets steep near Sirdibas and as we cross a dramatic suspension bridge over the river, we further climb up to a beautiful village of Phillim. From Phidim, we lose the height and enter to Tsum valley. As we head a little further with a climb, we reach Lhokpa. The views of Ganesh Himal and Shringi Himal from Lokpa is amazing. Overnight at a guesthouse in Lokpa.
Day 7: Trek to Chumling
Today, we cross three suspension bridges in the morning and ascend up steeply for rest of the day. As we are close to the end of our journey today, we walk gradually along a nice path until we reach Chumling. Our walk for the day is short but as we have to ascend for long, the walk is quite tiring and gains a little more of elevation. Overnight at a guesthouse in Chumling.
Day 8: Trek to Chhekampar
We leave Chumling and begin our walk to Chhekampar. Chhekampur is also popularly known as Chhokangparo and is located on the top of the hill. Our trail for today follows one of the tributaries of the Budhi Gandaki River for the most part of the day. We pass a small monastery on the way and crosses another tributary from where we begin to ascend up to the hill to Chhekampar. Chhekampar consists of two unique settlements namely Chhokang and Paro. Being on the top of the hill, Chhekampar acts as a vantage point that offers close-up views of Ganesh Himal Range. Overnight at a guesthouse in Chhekampar.
Day 9: Trek to Lama Gaon
Today, we walk ahead along an easy path through several small villages like Leru and Ngakyu to Lamagaun. Upon our arrival at Lama gaon, we explore around the village. Overnight at guesthouse in Lama Gaon.
Day 10: Lamagaun – Monasteries – Lama Gaon
Today we visit the famous Milarepa Cave and explore other gompas in Lama gaon. We explore around the wild village exploring the lifestyle, culture and tradition of people residing here. Overnight at a guesthouse in Lamagaon.
Day 11: Trek to Mu Gompa
We continue our journey to Nile that goes through series of ups and downs to Mu Gompa. Mu Gompa is one of the oldest existing monasteries in Tsum Valley region of Nepal. Due to its remote access, no human settlement is found in area around Mu Gompa. This Gompa exists at the highest and farthest point in Tsum valley. Yaks carrying goods to and from Tibet can be seen on the way.
Day 12: Hike over a hill – Nunnery Gompa – Mu Gompa
We descend down the valley to Chhule and continue walking down to Phurbe. We stay on the east bank of the Siyar Khola and cross flat boulder-covered plains and follow the power lines to Rachen Gompa/ Nunnery Gompa. We visit this ancient gompa and interact with the monks and nuns living in the gompa. We stay at the gompa for the night.
Day 13: Trek to Chhekampar
Leaving Nunnery Gompa, we retrace our journey back to Chhekampar. Overnight at a guesthouse in Chhekampar.
Day 14: Trek to Gumba Ludun
After having quick breakfast, we will leave Dumje and choose the descending trail that enthralls us with scenic views of Manaslu Mountain and Ganesh Mountain. Moving through few dispersed settlements, we will arrive at Lungdang Gompa. Lungdang Gompa is a Buddhist nunnery where males are not allowed an entrance. The area around Lung Dang Gompa offers the best sunrise view over Ganesh Himal range. Stay overnight in a camp nearby Lung Dang Gompa.
Day 15: Hike to Ganesh Himal Base Camp
Today, we hike up to the Ganesh Base Camp. As we get closer to the Ganesh Base Camp, we will get looming close up views of Ganesh Himal. After beholding the beauty of Ganesh Himal from the base camp, we return back to Lung Dang Gompa
Day 16: Trek to Lokpa via Ripchet
Leaving Lung Dang Gompa, we descend down to Ripchet. We follow the trail that goes through a series of ups and downs to the large village of Ripchet We then descend down through pine forests with wildlife and descend down the river until we reach Dobhan. Overnight at a guesthouse in Dobhan.
Day 17: Trek to Yaru phat
We further descend down along the trail to Yaru Phat. Overnight at a guesthouse in Yaru Phat.
Day 18: Trek to Lapubensi
We pass through the same ridge, drop down through the same stairs at Thulo Bharyang and cross the suspension bridges to Dobhan. We retrace our journey back to Hot springs at Tatopani and then the Macchakhola to Lapubensi.
Day 19: Trek to Arughat
We continue descending down along the slope of the Budhi Gandaki. Before reaching Sotikhola we again cross a suspension bridge on the way up the valley. As we walk ahead to Sotikhola, we can see a stunning waterfall in front of us. We further walk ahead until we reach Arughat. Overnight at a guesthouse in Arughat.
Day 20: Drive to Kathmandu
Today, we head towards Kathmandu. We drive for around seven hours from Arughat to Kathmandu. Our route along the way is scenic as it passes through Dhading Besi and Malekhu. We can enjoy the mountain views, rice fields and crop fields and river. We drive through Naubishe and enter Kathmandu at Thankot checkpoint. Overnight at a hotel in Kathmandu.
Day 21: Sightseeing tour in Bhaktapur
A free day in Kathmandu. We can either rest or stroll around the city for shopping and exploration. We can also visit the places for sightseeing in Kathmandu if interested. Overnight at the hotel in Kathmandu.
Day 22: Departure Day
Your guide will escort you to the airport before your scheduled flight for your journey ahead.