Are Tsum Valley and Upper Manaslu newly opened areas for trekking?

Tsum Valley is a new location and a Himalayan Shangri-la . It was opened to the outside world in 2008. This location had remained forbidden for decades. However, it is still a part of Nepal's far north-western region. Similarly, Upper Manaslu was restricted to outside visitors before 1992. It was opened to outsiders in 1992, and it is the location where Tsum Valley lies. These locations remain as restricted areas of Nepal. Trekkers require special permits to enter these once-forbidden countries. Along with the special permits, trekkers must also obtain Manaslu Circuit Area Permit(MCAP) and Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) fees.

Why are Tsum Valley and Manaslu a Restricted area?

Tsum Valley and Manaslu are restricted to protect their environment and surroundings . The restriction prevents the mass flow of trekkers. Another reason is that the Northern Tsum Valley and Upper Mustang areas are close to the border of Nepal and Tibet/ China.”

What are the religions and cultures of the Tsum Valley and Manaslu areas?

The primary religion of Tsum Valley and Upper Manaslu is Tibetan Buddhism . This form of Buddhism is also known as Mahayana the Greater Wheels . Tibetan Buddhism is observed throughout the Himalayas, with prayer wheels and monasteries being common sights.

How are the accommodation and foods on this trekking route ?

In the past, the food and accommodation were simple. However, the influx of visitors has increased the quality of food and accommodation. There are many good lodges for accommodation and varieties of food on the menu. You can rest in simple, clean rooms with large dining halls while being served in a lively environment. However, there are few attached bathrooms because of the location and cold weather, which causes plumbing to freeze. This is especially the problem in higher areas. You can still find basic and simple accommodation at Mu Gompa and Rachen Gompa. You can choose your meals from À la carte or set meals for a group with more than four members. Furthermore, we recommend you set meals like Nepali Dal-Bhat, served with mild vegetable curry and pickles. Choosing a Set Menu saves time and energy, making it a great way to support Responsible Tourism and Eco-Trekking.

Tsum Valley and Manaslu Circuit Trekking 23 Days

Day 01:Arrival in Kathmandu and Transfer to Hotel

Once you arrive at Kathmandu from Nepal International Airport, you clear the immigration and collect the baggage. As you head outside the terminal, our staff guide will receive you on your transfer to your hotels. Once you reach your hotel room, you can rest before joining other trekking members. After this, we begin our briefing with other Tsum Valley and Manaslu Circuit Trek members. This briefing explains every necessary detail about the trek. It includes the nature of the walks, landscapes, climate, and local cultures.

We provide a welcome dinner in an authentic Nepali restaurant in the evening. This serves as an act of goodwill and introduction to Nepali foods. Once the dinner is over, you head back towards the Hotel.

Day 02:Kathmandu Trek Preparation with Options for Sightseeing Tour

You have a free day in Kathmandu for trek preparation. You can buy or rent necessary gear at reasonable prices on this day. Furthermore, you can also take a short tour around Kathmandu. As the capital of Nepal, the city is filled with historical and religious sites.

Many of these sites are among World Heritage sites. After this, you can rest for the day and pack for the early departure. You can leave unnecessary items in your Hotel. Along with this, we recommend you leave your valuables at hotels for safekeeping.

Day 03:Drive to Machha Khola 900m/ 2,952 Ft (6 hrs) and Trek to Khorla Besi 1070 m/ 3510.499 Ft (2 hrs) (Total Approx 0.8 Hrs)

The journey starts early in the morning, roughly 6 hours to Machha-Khola. When we reach a distance of 156 Km/ 97 miles, we will have breakfast in a vehicle. The journey continues with a drive on the main highway towards Malekhu town. This town is located beside The Trisuli River.

After this, we head towards Dhading district on a widening road. Then, we slowly head downhill towards Arughat town. This town is located by the Budhi Gandaki River in Gorkha District. We then continue our journey on a dirt road towards Machha-Khola.

The journey for the day ends with a short hike on an easy path to Khola Besi. We will then stay in a nice lodge for the first overnight stay of the trek.

Day 04:Trek to Jagat 1340 m/ 4396 Ft - 06 hrs

Our first day of trekking starts with a good breakfast. After a good meal, we follow the narrow river George. The journey consists of an uneven path followed by a descent towards Tatopani. This is a location with a natural hot spring. The name Tatopani suggests this. Tato in Nepali translates to hot, and water translates to water. The name of this location translates to hot water and is associated with the spring. From this point, we cross a bridge and then ascend to Dovan.

Once we reach Dovan, we stop for lunch and cross another suspense bridge above Yaru Khola. The journey from this point is easier because of the paved stone stairs. We ascend on our journey till we reach Tharo Bhanjyang.

The climb leads over a ridge of Tharo Bhanjyang, where you can enjoy beautiful scenery as you walk. Then, we head for the day's last climb towards Jagat Village for an overnight stop. Jagat is a lovely village and the main entry point towards the restricted areas of Tsum Valley and Upper Manaslu.

Day 05:Trek to Lokpa 2,240 m/6692 Ft -06 hrs.

After a comfortable night in Jagat Village, the journey on this day takes you through forested paths and streams. We walk past rural villages and climb towards the rocky ridge of Salleri. Then we walk downhill to Sirdibas. Once we reach there, the valley slowly widens towards the Ghatta Khola River, following upstream. We then cross a long bridge towards Philim, a large Gurung Village. From there on, the trail heads north gradually. After a few hours of walking, we reach Ekle Bhatti, a small settlement. At this point, the trail enters a gorge towards a grassy slope.

From here, we cross the Budhi Gandaki River, heading east. Then, the gorge widens to a valley surrounded by bamboo forest after we reach Deng Khola. We then have lunch after crossing this river. In the afternoon, we take a long walk towards Lokpa. From this point, the route branches off the Manaslu Circuit trail towards Tsum Valley Trek.

You can see a welcome board to Tsum Valley when we reach this point. From here, the trail gets narrower as we walk over the Sayer Khola as our route heads further into Lokpa. Once we reach our destination, we stay at a good lodge for an overnight stay.

Day 06:Trek to Chumling 2,386 m through Chisapani - 06 hrs

Our journey for this day starts with a descent to Luangwa Khola. Then, the trail heads east through pines and rhododendron trees as we reach Gumlung. We then cross Sayer Khola.

From here, we adventure through a landslide section towards Canti-lever. This type of bridge uses cantilever scaffolding hanging at the edge of a rock cliff edge. After we cross the bridge, we go through a short climb towards the village of Chumling. Chumling is the first village in Tsum Valley. Here, we enjoy the comfort of a homely lodge and guest house with a grand view of Shringi Himal. After checking into the Hotel, we visit the old Chumling Gompa/Monastery and explore the nice cultural village.

Day 07:Trek to Chokang-Paro 3, 010 m/ 9,903 Ft -05 hrs.

After departing from the first village of Tsum Village, we journey towards the inner areas of Tsum towards Chokang-paro. The morning journey is filled with monuments of Chorten and Mani prayer walls made from stone slabs. These slabs are engraved with Buddhist deities and Tibetan prayers. The trail leads us across the suspension bridge and past maize and potato farms. Here, we can witness houses made in the classic Tibetan style.

These houses consist of barricades of firewood on the rooftop. They serve as the status of wealth. This is because firewood is scarce in barren areas of upper Tsum Valley. This valley also extends Tibet's South West Plateau, with similar dry landscapes.

Our trip takes us through some areas that used to look different but now have new trees growing. We'll walk towards the northeast and see a pretty view of Ganesh Himal and other mountains. We'll cross some long swinging bridges and take a break for lunch in Ripchet and Raynham villages.

This is an isolated location with a guest house with an enclosed courtyard. It is designed to defend against the strong, cold wind. After lunch, we walk uphill for a few hours until we reach Chokang-Paro. This beautiful village is filled with stone houses perched under high cliff walls. Here, you can enjoy the comfort of a pleasant lodge. You can also explore the village, facing beautiful views of Himal-chuli peaks across the valley.

Day 08:Trek to Nile 3361 M visiting Millerepa Cave- 06 hrs

After a pleasant overnight stay at Chokang-Paro village, our morning begins by exploring the villages of Chokang and Paro. We continue our journey past several similar villages. After this, we climb a ridge with a prayer monument to Chorten.

We then walk towards Lama-Gaon, located on a flat field surrounded by crops. This village is located close to Rachen Gompa. We then continued our walk with an option to explore saint Millerepa, an 11th-century poet and a singer who meditated on Piren Phu cave. This cave is well-preserved and restored. From here, we walk across Shyer Khola. We then follow a trail passing through the hamlets of Phurbi and Pangdun. Then we come across Chhule Village. We then enter an impressive gate called Kani and cross a bridge. After this, we climb to the Nile (Nyile) for an overnight stay in a nice lodge. This village is decorated in traditional Tibetan-style design. They feature livestock and sheltered verandahs for drying crops.

Day 09:Trek to Mu Gompa 3,700 m/ 12,174 Ft- 04 hrs.

Our journey this day begins with a few-hour hike to Mu Gompa. Mu Gompa is the main destination of this journey and the highlight of the adventure. Our morning walk takes us to climb into a wide and wide landscape on the Tibetan plateau. After this, we take a walk towards the remote settlement of the Mu Gompa area. Besides how folks in Tibet do stuff, the hills and valleys here look nice. This nice country lets explorers find its hidden beauty, which was kept secret for a long time. We stay overnight in a simple guest house run by monks and nuns.

At Mu Gompa, we hike around the scenic viewpoints and interact with local villagers. Furthermore, you will also get plenty of time to explore this traditional village. Very few foreigners visit this area. The first foreigner to visit this place was the late David Snellgrove. He was a pioneer and explorer from around 1956. You can walk to Dhephyu-Doma Gompa, a nunnery in an isolated spot. It faces beautiful scenarios.

Day 10:Trek to Rachen Gompa 3,240 m/ 10,629 Ft-05 hrs.

After spending time at Mu Gompa, we begin our return journey. The return journey takes us another to visit the settlement of Rachel Gompa. We take a walk after breakfast and head down a short climb. Then, we journey through Yak herders and temporary shelters past Lar village. We take another short walk to an overnight stop at Rachen Gompa. After an afternoon of exploring, you can enjoy a comfortable stay at a small lodge or a guest house.

Day 11:Trek to Chumling 2,386 m/ 7828 Ft -05 hrs.

After an enjoyable time at Mu and Rachen Gompa, we take an easy and moderate walk to Chumling. The trail for this part of the journey follows past Dumje and over a suspension bridge to Chokang Paro. From this point, we retrace our journey to Chumling. We follow the same scenes and enjoy glorious views at Chumling. We check our previous lodge for a last overnight stay around the Tsum Valley Trekking area.

Day 12:Trek to Dyang 2,130 m/ 7578.74 Ft -06 hrs.

On our 12th day of the journey, we head down towards mild hills to reach Dyang. Dyang is a lovely farm village past Lokga at the end of the Tsum Valley area. Our morning walk follows the same route we ascended but with a slight difference. Our trail follows Lokpa before we reach Dyang village for an overnight stay. Here, we will have plenty of time to explore the hills village across many crop fields and terraces.

Day 13:Trek to Namrung 2,618 m - 05 hrs

After enjoying a good breakfast, we head towards the high and scenic valley of Manaslu. We begin our journey from Dyang and walk towards culturally significant trek sections. Our trail then follows across the Budhi Gandaki River and a small climb over the bridge. Then, we join a route coming from Bhi and head west up the valley through lush forested areas.

Although there is another route, we take the trail through a park and a small mountain village to enjoy the views. We enjoy the views of Siringi Himal as our walk continues across Budhi Gandaki and several Gompa. Our journey follows a river upstream through dense forest and a narrow gorge. As we continue our journey, we are rewarded with the view of vegetation growing thinner. This is one of the best ways to experience the Manaslu Conservation Area (MCA). Our walk eventually ends after a last climb to Namrung. Namrung is a lovely village with beautiful scenery and good lodges. There, we check into nice rooms and take a break surrounded by beautiful views of snow-capped peaks.

Day 14:Trek to Lo Gaon - 3.180 m - 05 hrs

After having a good breakfast, we enjoy a short walk to a wonderful viewpoint. From this viewpoint, we can take wonderful views of Siringi Himal and Ganesh Himal. It includes Mount Himal Chuli towards the south. Our morning walk leads to a slow climb through forests to Lihi. This is a nice village with Buddhist monuments and barely any terraces. As the trail drops to the cross side, we can enjoy the views of Ganesh Himal. Then we journey towards the Sho village before stopping at Lo-Gaun overnight.

Lo-Gaan is a lovely village with a monastery/ Ribung Gompa and nice lodges. We can also enjoy beautiful views of the majestic Manaslu Himal. Our walk on this day lasts less than 5 hours before we stop for the night.

Day 15:Trek to Sama Gaon 3,530 m - 05 hrs

After Lo Gaon, the tree line fades for short juniper bushes. Our journey then leads towards the beautiful views of mountainous peaks. Our day finally ends at Sama Gaon for the overnight stop. This is a large mountain village between the route to the Manaslu base camping trek and Larke-la pass. It is also located near the Tibet Border.

Day 16:At Sama-Gaon, rest day for acclimatization and a Short Hike

On this day, we take a rest at Sama Gaon. This palace is ideal for acclimatization before climbing towards the Manaslu base camp. At Sama Gaon, we take a day to explore this interesting village. This village is filled with Tibetan culture and traditional ways of life. We also visit other breathtaking places. These places include Birendra Tal, a glacial take situation before Manaslu Base Camp. You can hike up to a small hill near Sama-Gaon if you are energetic. There, we can explore Pungyen Gompa/Monastery.

Day 17:Trek to Samdo 3,860 m - 05 hrs

After a pleasant day at Sama Gaon, we trek towards Samdo, which is close. We can easily make this trip in a few hours. However, thin air and high altitude make the hike slower.

The route slowly leads to Samdo village. This village is the last village before crossing over Larke-la pass. We stay at Samdo for an overnight rest. We can enjoy strong Tibetan influence because of its close border to Tibet. This is also the area where small trades happen.

Day 18:Trek to Dharamshala/ Larke Phedi 4,470 m - 04 hrs

From Samdo, we walk towards more barren areas. Then, our adventure begins, crossing Gya La Khola. We then ascend to the ridge where there is a ruins of a village known as Larke Bazaar. This village was once assumed to thrive in Tibet over the nearby Gya La. This trade has now diminished.

Our journey nears Larke Glacier before we finally reach Dharmasala. It is a small place with few simple lodges, a perfect spot to rest before climbing the Larke-La. We stop at Dharamsala for lunch and an overnight stop. We can relax after lunch to marvel at the beautiful scenarios.

Day 19:Trek to Bhimthang -3,720 m via Larke - La pass 5,106 m - 08 hrs

We resume our journey to Larke Phedi to the top of Larke-la Pass at 5106 meters. We start with a gradual winding uphill to reach the highest point of our adventure.

The morning climb of this day leads past the valley on the northern side of Larke Glacier. Once we reach there, we will see the magnificent views of Cho Danda and Larke Peak. We finally walk across the moraines of the glacier. Then, we make a gradual ascent deeper in the last section at the top of the pass.

We can view the beautiful Himlung, Cheo Himal, Kang Guru, and Annapurna II. After a brief break at the highest spot, we descended over the snow to reach the valley trail of Larcia.

After another hour on a moraine ridge, the path to our journey leads to Tambuchhe at 3900 meters. We take a short walk overnight to stop at Bhimthang, a beautiful place on a wide valley with many Mani walls. We stay overnight in a beautiful lodge.

Day 20:Trek to Gho 2,560 m - 04 hrs

The journey of this day is an easy trek towards the Dharapani. We trek past a thick forested area filled with pines and rhododendron trees.

From Bhimtang, we descend towards the valley of Burden Khola, the base of the west side of Manaslu. We can have a breathtaking view of Manaslu in the southeast and Annapurna II in the southwest.

The journey then leads to Dudh Khola, and we descend into a narrow valley. Our journey then concludes with an overnight stop surrounded by forest.

Day 21:Trek to Tal Besi 1,760 m or Chamje 1,540 m - 06 hrs

Our journey on this day consists of the walk downhill to the forest past a summer settlement. We then climb towards terraced fields towards Karche La. After this, we descend towards the Marsyangdi River.

After a few hours of walking, we reach Tilije village. We then reach the Dudh River downstream while passing a few villages.

Then, we ascend for an hour before crossing the bridge. After this, we will join the main trail of the Annapurna circuit at Dharapani village.

Day 22:Drive to Kathmandu and Transfer to your hotel - 05 hrs

On the morning of our 22nd day, we drive back to Kathmandu on a downhill road towards Lamjung district. Then, we head towards Bhesisar town, the town headquarters of Lamjung.

Then we drive on a nice road on the main highway of Kathmandu. The drive follows the Trishuli River upstream for a few hours before we arrive in Kathmandu. You can then move to a hotel. You will have an afternoon free. You can spend the afternoon as you please.

Day 23:International Departures for homeward bound.

This is our last memorable day in Nepal after a wonderful experience on the Tsum Valley and Manaslu Circuit trekking. You will transfer to Kathmandu International Airport. Then you will travel back to your home.