Tsum Valley

September 9th, 2010  | Comments: 1

Beautiful view of Ganesh Himal from Tsum © Heian

Visiting Tsum Valley is like walking back in time. Other than a handful of small changes, the sights and ambience of this sacred valley remain timeless. Patches of purple-hued amaranth interspersed with fields of brown barley, dzos and yaks grazing in grassy meadows, rustic stone houses hugging the trail, long stretches of hand-carved mani stones and stacked mani walls, ancient villages dotting the landscape, rock chortens perched high on ridges, waterfalls cascading off soaring cliffs, rivers tumbling wildly down precipitous gorges, snow-capped Himalayan peaks scratching the deep blue sky, high remote mountain passes threading into Tibet, maroon-robed Buddhist monks and nuns fingering prayer beads, and hard-working kind-hearted villagers warmly welcome you into this scenic and soaring valley where Tibetan culture is still celebrated today.

Trekking Tsum valley requires strong hiking skills and very good conditioning due to significant elevation gain, numerous high altitude camps, some rough trails and good distances. You will probably walk about 20km (12 miles) a day for 21 days, so it is more difficult than popular treks like Annapurna or Everest Base Camp. A trek from Arughat to upper Tsum can take either 20 days or 27 days depending on your preferred itinerary.

Bring warm clothing, a walking stick or poles and comfortable but supportive hiking shoes. Nighttime temperatures can drop to below freezing at higher elevations, so bring a warm sleeping bag…as well as a light sleeping sheet for warmer nights in lower valleys. Please help keep Tsum Valley clean by bringing a re-useable water bottle that can be refilled with boiled or filtered drinking water, rather than buying water in disposable plastic bottles along the way.

Medical care is scarce to non-existent in this remote valley, so bring sufficient medicine and first aid supplies for your personal needs – local people who may occasionally request your help.

Participation in local activities

Festivals include:

• Losar (Tibetan New Year in Jan/Feb)
• Dhachyang (Horse festival in Dec/Jan/Feb)
• Saka Dawa (Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death in May)
• Faning (food celebration in Aug)

Dates change from year to year so its wise to research for the current year.

Sites, side trips & volunteer work possibilities

• Milarepa Piren Phu cave
• Mu Gompa monastery
• Rachen nunnery
• Gumba Lungdang nunnery
• Dheron Gumba nunnery
• Health camps
• Trash clean-up
• School visits
• Ganesh amphitheater
• Cascading waterfalls
• Medicinal plants and herbs (over 50 varieties)
• Wildlife: including musk deer, Himalayan tahr, blue sheep, ghoral and the elusive snow leopard
• Handicrafts, including bamboo baskets, wooden masks and teacups, wood jugs and kitchen implements, musical instrument (dhagen), yak wool blankets, kimonos and mattresses

Trekking in Tsum Valley is not only a journey to a beautiful, inspiring and secret hideaway…but also a journey back in time, where ancient Tibetan traditions and cultures are still alive and being practiced today. It’s a genuine ‘off-the-beaten trail’ gem of an experience!

-Jack Moore, Mt. Shasta, California, USA

Further information

Click to download an article in Travel Times (PDF 1MB)

An article from a Kathmandu Travel magazine is posted left. A short but recommended blog post from Deana Zabaldo, an ex-peace corp volunteer very much at home in Nepal.

For more information visit http://www.tsumvalley.org/ and http://www.tsumvalleyhomestay.com/.

More treks in  Manaslu & Ganesh Himal here.