Tsum Valley Trek

The hidden valley

14 days
Moderate
From $4,600

Duration: 14 days
Walking grade: Moderate
Highest point: 3,700 m
Best months: Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov
Starts and ends: Kathmandu

For travellers drawn to monasteries, mani walls and a valley that kept its old ways.

A sacred hidden valley below the Tibetan border
A night as guests at Mu Gompa
The nunnery at Rachen Gompa
Mani walls and Milarepa’s cave

Tsum is a hidden valley in the old Buddhist sense: a sacred place set aside for retreat. It sits below the Tibetan border, inside a restricted area, and stayed closed to visitors until 2008.

Mani walls line the trail, and the valley has kept its old ways. You visit the caves where Milarepa is said to have meditated, spend a night at Mu Gompa at the head of the valley, and walk back through the nunnery at Rachen Gompa.

The route shares its first days with the Manaslu Circuit, up the Budhi Gandaki gorge, then turns east into Tsum. You climb through lower Tsum to the wide upper valley, with Ganesh Himal behind you, and reach Mu Gompa at 3,700 metres before returning by the same valley. There is no high pass, and the sleeping altitude rises gradually.

Tsum suits travellers who are more interested in people and monasteries than in summits, and who are happy with simple comfort. Every night on the trail is in a village teahouse or at the monastery, with shared bathrooms in most places. Few trekkers come this way, and the welcome in the villages is warm. You finish with a rest day in Kathmandu and an evening at Boudhanath.

Tsum Valley Trek: the route

10 places · starts and ends in Kathmandu

Your journey at a glance

Choose a day

Day 1Kathmandu1,400 m

Arrival · Luxury hotel

Read this day

Highest night 3,700 m at Mu Gompa

Way upWay backPositions are approximate; peaks are shown for orientation.

Tsum Valley Trek, day by day

Day 1 Kathmandu Luxury hotel Arrival 1,400 m

Your host meets you at arrivals and drives you to the hotel in central Kathmandu. Tsum is a restricted area, so your permit is arranged before you arrive, using the passport details you send us; in the evening your guide goes through the route and your gear over dinner. The rest of the day is for resting after the flight.

Getting there
Arrival

Sleeping altitude
1,400 m

Where you stay
Heritage luxury hotel in Kathmandu (Dwarika's or similar)

Meals
Dinner
Day 2 Machha Khola Best teahouse Drive 8–9 h 930 m

A private jeep heads west out of Kathmandu and north into the hills, following the Budhi Gandaki river to Machha Khola. The last part of the road is rough and slow, and the day is long, with stops for lunch and tea. The teahouse at Machha Khola is basic and friendly, beside the river.

Getting there
Drive 8–9 h

Sleeping altitude
930 m (−470 m)

Where you stay
Best available teahouse, private room, often with shared bathroom

Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 3 Jagat Best teahouse 6–7 h · 22 km 1,410 m

The trail follows the Budhi Gandaki upstream through a narrowing gorge, past waterfalls and the small hot springs at Tatopani, crossing long suspension bridges. At Jagat your permits are checked at the entry to the restricted area. Jagat is a village of stone-paved lanes with a few simple lodges.

Walking
About 6–7 h, 22 km

Sleeping altitude
1,410 m (+480 m)

Where you stay
Best available teahouse, private room, often with shared bathroom

Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4 Lokpa Best teahouse 6 h · 14 km 2,240 m

Past Philim the trail leaves the main Manaslu route and turns east into the Tsum valley, climbing steeply through pine forest above the Siyar Khola. Lokpa is the first village in Tsum, a few houses and a small lodge in the forest. From here on you will see few other trekkers.

Walking
About 6 h, 14 km

Sleeping altitude
2,240 m (+830 m)

Where you stay
Best available teahouse, private room, often with shared bathroom

Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5 Chumling Best teahouse 4–5 h · 10 km 2,386 m

Through the forest and across the river into lower Tsum to Chumling, a village of stone houses, terraced fields and an old gompa. The views open to Ganesh Himal across the valley. The afternoon is free to visit the gompa and walk among the fields with your guide.

Walking
About 4–5 h, 10 km

Sleeping altitude
2,386 m (+146 m)

Where you stay
Best available teahouse, private room, often with shared bathroom

Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 6 Chhokangparo Best teahouse 4–5 h · 10 km 3,031 m

Into upper Tsum, where the valley widens and the villages become larger, with Ganesh Himal behind you. The houses are built close together, with flat roofs and prayer flags. Chhokangparo sits on a broad shelf of fields above the river. The teahouse is a family home, simple and warm.

Walking
About 4–5 h, 10 km

Sleeping altitude
3,031 m (+645 m)

Where you stay
Best available teahouse, private room, often with shared bathroom

Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 7 Nile Best teahouse 5 h · 13 km 3,361 m

Up the valley past long mani walls and chortens to Milarepa's cave, where the poet and saint is said to have meditated, with a small shrine kept by a caretaker. You continue to Nile, the last village before the head of the valley and close to the Tibetan border. The people here are of Tibetan descent and the old ways are strong.

Walking
About 5 h, 13 km

Sleeping altitude
3,361 m (+330 m)

Where you stay
Best available teahouse, private room, often with shared bathroom

Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 8 Mu Gompa Best teahouse 3 h · 6 km 3,700 m

A short climb to Mu Gompa at 3,700 metres, the largest monastery in Tsum, set among bare hills at the head of the valley. You spend the night as guests of the monks, in simple rooms at the monastery. If you are there for the evening prayers, your guide will show you where to sit.

Walking
About 3 h, 6 km

Sleeping altitude
3,700 m (+339 m)

Where you stay
Best available teahouse, private room, often with shared bathroom

Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 9 Rachen Gompa · Chhokangparo Best teahouse 5 h · 13 km 3,031 m

Down the valley to Rachen Gompa, a nunnery on the far bank of the river, where you can meet the nuns and see the prayer hall. You then continue down to Chhokangparo for the night. It is a gentle day, mostly downhill, with time to stop in the villages and look back at the high valley you have just left.

Walking
About 5 h, 13 km

Sleeping altitude
3,031 m (−669 m)

Where you stay
Best available teahouse, private room, often with shared bathroom

Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 10 Lokpa Best teahouse 6 h · 15 km 2,240 m

Down through lower Tsum and back into the forest to Lokpa. The walking is familiar now, but the light and the views are different going the other way, and the legs are stronger. Your guide may stop at a house or two you passed on the way up. It is the last night in the Tsum valley.

Walking
About 6 h, 15 km

Sleeping altitude
2,240 m (−791 m)

Where you stay
Best available teahouse, private room, often with shared bathroom

Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 11 Philim Best teahouse 5 h · 11 km 1,570 m

Down from Lokpa and back to the Budhi Gandaki, then along the river to Philim, a village of terraced fields above the gorge. The air is warmer and the trail busier as you rejoin the main valley. The teahouse is simple, with a hot dinner and a last evening with your team.

Walking
About 5 h, 11 km

Sleeping altitude
1,570 m (−670 m)

Where you stay
Best available teahouse, private room, often with shared bathroom

Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 12 Kathmandu Luxury hotel 3 h · 8 km 1,400 m

A short morning walk to the road, where a private jeep is waiting to drive you back to Kathmandu, a long day on rough mountain roads with stops along the way. By evening you are back at the hotel, with a hot bath and a proper bed.

Walking
About 3 h, 8 km

Getting there
Drive 8 h

Sleeping altitude
1,400 m (−170 m)

Where you stay
Heritage luxury hotel in Kathmandu (Dwarika's or similar)

Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 13 Kathmandu Luxury hotel 1,400 m

A day to rest. In the late afternoon your guide takes you to Boudhanath, the great white stupa, to join the families walking their kora around it at dusk. It is a fitting end to a journey through Tsum. The morning is yours: a long breakfast, a massage, or a little shopping in Thamel.

Sleeping altitude
1,400 m

Where you stay
Heritage luxury hotel in Kathmandu (Dwarika's or similar)

Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 14 Departure Departure

A private transfer to the airport for your flight home. If you would like more time in Nepal, we can add nights in Kathmandu or join another journey.

Getting there
Departure

Meals
Breakfast

Walking times are typical at an unhurried pace and include rests; your guide adjusts each day to the group and the weather.

Is this journey for you?

Walking: Five to seven hours a day, sleeping as high as about 4,000 metres.
Fitness: Regular exercise and some hill walking before you come.
Altitude: You sleep as high as 3,700 m, with acclimatisation built into the route. We send a health questionnaire and talk it through before you book.
Terrain: Steep forest trails and suspension bridges in the gorge, then broad paths between fields and villages in the upper valley; no high pass.

The practical details

Where you stay

Named lodges or similar, confirmed in your proposal.

3 nights
Luxury hotel

Heritage luxury hotel in Kathmandu (Dwarika's or similar)

Kathmandu
10 nights
Best teahouse

Best available teahouse, private room, often with shared bathroom

Machha Khola · Jagat · Lokpa · Chumling · Chhokangparo · Nile · Mu Gompa · Philim

Best time for the Tsum Valley Trek

JanJanuary: Possible. Cold and clear; snow can close high passes.
FebFebruary: Possible. Cold and clear; snow can close high passes.
MarMarch: Best. Spring begins: clear mornings, rhododendrons in bloom lower down.
AprApril: Best. Peak spring season: warm days, flowers, busier trails.
MayMay: Good. Warmer and hazier, with afternoon cloud as the monsoon nears.
JunJune: Not recommended. Monsoon: rain most afternoons, leeches low down, mountains often hidden.
JulJuly: Not recommended. Monsoon: heavy rain and frequent flight cancellations.
AugAugust: Not recommended. Monsoon: heavy rain and frequent flight cancellations.
SepSeptember: Good. Monsoon clears late in the month; lush valleys, some cloud.
OctOctober: Best. Peak autumn season: clear views, festivals, busier trails.
NovNovember: Best. Clear, stable and cooler; quieter after mid-month.
DecDecember: Good. Cold, clear and quiet; short days at altitude.

BestGoodPossibleNot recommended

Seasons for this journey: Spring, Autumn. Choose a month for what to expect.

Comparing prices for the Tsum Valley Trek?

Cheaper treks are usually group departures. Ask any operator:

Is the guide yours alone?: Yes. Only your own party travels together, never a group departure.
How many guides and porters?: A senior guide and a porter for every two guests.
Are altitude checks written down?: Twice a day above 3,000 m, with bottled oxygen on every high route.
What if someone needs evacuating?: A standing helicopter agreement, and insurance confirmed before you travel.

Our Care Standard

Included

Himkora Host, plus a senior guide and a porter for every two guests
All hotels and lodges as described
All meals, including dinners in the cities
Permits: Tsum Valley restricted-area permit; Manaslu Conservation Area permit; Annapurna Conservation Area permit
Porters, private vehicles and every transfer
Down jacket, sleeping bag and a Himkora duffel on loan
Treated drinking water every day on the trail
Twice-daily oxygen and pulse checks, and a full first-aid kit
Guided sightseeing in Kathmandu as described
The Himkora Care Standard, in full

Not included

5 items

International flights
Nepal visa (US$50 on arrival for 30 days)
Travel insurance with evacuation cover (required)
Gratuities and drinks
Wi-Fi, charging and hot showers where lodges charge for them

Before you go

Permits we arrange for you

Tsum Valley restricted-area permit
Manaslu Conservation Area permit
Annapurna Conservation Area permit and TIMS card

We need a scan of your passport photo page and one passport photo about six weeks before travel. Permit fees are included in your price.

Visa and insurance

Most nationalities get a Nepal tourist visa on arrival at Kathmandu airport, or online in advance. Check the Department of Immigration before you travel.
Travel insurance is required. It must cover trekking to at least 5,000 m and helicopter evacuation; we check your policy before departure.

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Questions guests ask

More answers on our questions page, or write to hello@himkora.com.

How much does the Tsum Valley Trek cost?

From $4,600 per person, for two travelling privately, $4,000 per person for four and $6,950 if you travel alone. The price includes guiding, porters, accommodation, meals and permits as listed. Your proposal gives one clear price for your dates.

How many days is the Tsum Valley Trek?

14 days as we have planned it, from your arrival in Nepal to your departure. Because it is private, we can add rest days or extra nights, or shorten it if you have less time.

How difficult is the Tsum Valley Trek?

We grade it moderate. Five to seven hours a day, sleeping as high as about 4,000 metres. Regular exercise and some hill walking before you come.

How high does the Tsum Valley Trek go?

The highest point is 3,700 m, and the highest night is at 3,700 m. The itinerary includes acclimatisation days, and your guide checks your oxygen levels every morning and evening.

When is the best time for the Tsum Valley Trek?

The best months are March, April, October and November. See the month-by-month guide above for the rest of the year.

Which permits do I need for the Tsum Valley Trek?

You will need: Tsum Valley restricted-area permit; Manaslu Conservation Area permit; Annapurna Conservation Area permit and TIMS card. We arrange all of them for you and include the fees in your price.

Is every journey private?

Yes. You travel only with the people you choose, on your dates. Your guide, porters and vehicles are yours alone, and the route can be adjusted before or during the journey.

What is included in the price?

Your Himkora Host and senior guide, porters, every hotel and lodge named in the itinerary, meals as listed, domestic flights, permits, park fees and private transfers. International flights, your Nepal visa, travel insurance, drinks and gratuities are not included.

How do deposits and payment work?

A 30% deposit confirms your journey, and the balance is due 90 days before travel. Your proposal sets out the full price and the cancellation terms before you pay anything. Our full booking terms are on the Booking terms page.

How fit do I need to be?

Each journey has a walking grade, explained on its page. Before you book, we send a short health questionnaire and talk through your walking history. If a route isn't right, we will say so and suggest one that is.

How do you manage altitude?

Above 3,000 metres our itineraries raise sleeping altitude by about 500 metres a night, never more than 700 metres and then only next to a rest day, with acclimatisation days built in. Guides check blood oxygen and pulse twice a day, carry bottled oxygen on high routes, and always have the authority to turn back.

Do I need special travel insurance?

Yes. Your policy must cover trekking to the highest altitude on your route (up to 6,000 metres on our high journeys), emergency medical treatment, helicopter rescue and repatriation. We check it before you travel.

What if flights to Lukla are delayed?

Mountain flights depend on the weather, and in busy months they may leave from Ramechhap rather than Kathmandu. Every Everest itinerary keeps a spare day in Kathmandu after the Lukla flight, so a weather delay doesn't cost you any of the trek. If delays run on longer, a helicopter can be arranged at cost.

Short on time, or a few days spare?