Manaslu and Tsum valley trek

The trip starts today as we land in the vibrant, colorful city of Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal. We will pick you up at the airport, and transferred you to your hotel. Please look for our staff carrying an Icicles Adventure signboard and your nameplate in the airport.

Depending on your arrival time, you can rest or explore the lively streets of Thamel, a fun place to wander. Along the streets of Thamel there are trekking gear shops, souvenir shops, great bookshops, restaurants, etc.

At around 9 am we start a guided tour to several ancient, historical, and spiritual sites in Kathmandu. These sites are listed in UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. We visit the historic Patan Durbar Square, the sacred Hindu temple of Pashupatinath, the famous ‘Monkey Temple’ (Swayambhunath), and the Buddhists shrine, the Bouddhanath.

Later after the sightseeing program, we will introduce you to your trekking guide and have a small pre-trip meeting at the hotel. We advise you to pack your things and set up for your Tsum Valley and Manaslu Trekking, which begins tomorrow morning.

We leave for Solti Khola early at 8 am after breakfast. Today's drive is adventurous as we will wind up and down on the road that hugs the mountains and the journey today is beautiful too as we pass through green mountains, fields, rivers, gorges, and bridges. Leaving Kathmandu, we follow the Mahesh River and again Trishuli River.

We drive towards headquarter of Dhading district, Dhading Besi, and continue towards another town Arughat. From here, we go to Arkhet and it's now only 14 km to Soti Khola.

Drive Distance: 140 km

Drive Duration: 7-8 hours

We start the trek after having breakfast at a teahouse in Sotikhola. Then, we walk along the low-altitude middle hills for few days, so we feel pretty warm.

The trek today starts with a gentle upward slope and it slowly drops until we climb again to mountain ridge to Armala village. Next, we will walk through the tropical forest to the Gurung village of Lapubesi.

Along the way today, we will see waterfalls. Finally, we will reach the tiny settlement of Machha Khola, and see beautiful views of Ganesh Himal and Buddha Himal today.

We will walk alongside the edge of Budi Gandaki River and reach Khorlabensi. Then, we will cross a suspension bridge over Namrung Khola and again continue to Tatopani. There is a hot spring at this place, hence given the name Tatopani.

Shortly after leaving Tatopani, we will walk through the trail that goes through another side of the Budi Gandaki River. The trail winds through the gorges of Budi Gandaki River uphill and downhill through forests, rice fields, rock ridges, streams, and cascading waterfalls.

Again, we pass another suspension bridge over Dovan Khola and reach the hamlet of Dovan. Further, ahead we walk past forests, farmlands, waterfalls and reach the confluence of Budi Gandaki and Yaru River. Then we will walk through a stone-paved trail to the beautiful cobbled village of Jagat and its post-military checkpoint at the foot of a pretty Chorten.

Leaving Jagat, we reach Salleri village in about half an hour. We will walk past mani walls and the view of Shringi Himal from here is impressive while the budi Gandaki valley starts to broaden. We cross a long bridge and climb to beautiful village of Philim where there is a MCAP check post, a small hydroelectric plant, Japanese build school, etc.

Ahead of Philim, the terraced farmlands look artistic as we walk past the village of Ekle Bhatti. The valley starts to narrow as we walk past a beautiful waterfall. After two hours of walking from Philim, we reach a metal bridge that spans over the Budhi Gandaki River with a trail leading east to Manaslu Circuit to our left.

We take the right path and grab the trail to Tusm Valley towards the narrow valley of the Syar Khola. Beautiful panorama surrounds us as we climb the top of Lokpa, and snow-capped mountains of Ganesh Himal come into view.

The walk today is stimulating as we will realize today why Tsum valley has remained isolated for a long time.

We follow the Shiar Khola River path before starting some ascents and descents in a dense pine forest. Then we descend deliberately to the river, walking over the cantilever metal walkway across a mountain face. Finally, we cross a suspension bridge over Syar Khola before making the final incline to Chumling.

Elegantly set below mountains, Chumling is a traditional Buddhist village. It has an old monastery, traditional houses, cobbled streets, mani walls, a primary school, etc. The fluttering prayer flags signify a solid spiritual culture of the place.

Chumling village allows us to soak up the atmosphere of the Tsum Valley, which we will appreciate more and more over the next few days.

As we start the trek today, we savor the view of Lumbo peak, Himal Chuli, and the fantastic view of Ganesh Himal I, II, and IV.

We will walk past water driven prayer wheel at Tanju and continue through a dense pine forest full of fauna. Finally, we contour high above Syar Khola and get to Dumje village from where the trail then plunges to Sarphu River, a feeder of the Siyar River.

We will cross the suspension bridge over the Sarphu River and enter the main trail via Ripchet village. As we climb up to Gho Village, we'll see arresting view of Buddha Peak. We will have lunch at Gho village, and now it will be about two hours final walk to reach Chhokang Paro Village.

We will arrive on a plateau covered with pines, and Chortens that announce the arrival at the villages of Chhokang and Paro. Chhokang Paro is also popularly known as Chhekampar (which means the place of wisdom). Here the valley stretches, and the stone houses lean against the cliff to allow full use of the available land for farming.

It will be a moderately easy walk today as we walk through the spacious valley through several settlements, several Gompas, a lot of Chortens, and mani walls. We reach Ngakyu Leru, a village with abundant farming land with wheat, buckwheat, mustard, potatoes, and apples. 

We will take the trail via Lamagaon to visit Ranchen Gompa leisurely on our trek back. Otherwise, we can also reach Ranchen Gompa crossing the suspension bridge over Syar Khola from Ngakyu Leru village.

While trekking via Lamagaon, we will discover its great monastery, whose beautiful gilding we notice from a distance as it shines. If interested, we can go to Burji Village and the Milarepa (Piren Phu) cave, as well as, the Chi Phu Gompa.

Little after Burji Village, we cross a suspension bridge and take through the next side of Syar Khola. Then the trail proceeds to Phurwa and Pangdun Monastery, with its large prayer wheel. An imposing gate and stupa mark the entrance to the large village of Chule.

If you have interest in Buddhism, we can also visit Gonhgye Gompa at Chule, whose main monk is a bonanza of information. A waterfall is there traversing the Gonhgye Gompa and we will be walking ahead through long mani walls with cravings of Milarepa. After Nile, we can walk up the side of the valley close to a monastery rested on a cliff. If the weather is clear, watching the sunset over the mountain would be a fabulous experience to see the Himalayas in their exploding majesty.

We will have breakfast relatively early before starting our walk towards Mu Gompa. Mu Gompa, the last inhabited village of Tsum Valley, is located above the Syar Khola, which is about 2 hours' walk from the Nile Village. The panorama here is inspiring, and the monks are friendly. 

Traversing the monastery gives us a prospect to peep into the religious books and beautiful statues of Avalokiteshwara, Guru Padmasambhava Tara. The scenery including the yak meadows is serene, and the view of the Longnang Glacier is breathtaking.

We will also visit Dhephu Doma Gompa, a 600-year-old nunnery where we see ancient Thankas. We will get to cherish the spectacular view of the Ganesh Himal pyramid throughout this high valley. We can also take a short walk to the ridges above up to Dupchet if weather is perfect and the scenery is not obstructed.

We can do an optional hike to Bhajyo, and also make a day trip to the Nepal-Tibet border at Nueladajyen Bhanjyang (5093m), but we will require an extra day for it.

Note: We can also walk from Nile to Mu Gompa for a short visit and then trek back to Nile. But we suggest you allow a full day to explore Mu Gompa and the valley above. Also, if you are interested in exploring the Nepal-Tibet border high above to Nueladajyen Bhanjyang, Chhekya, please let us know at the time of the trip planning; you will need an additional day for this.

Today, we take more time to explore around Mu Gompa and then trek down to Ranchen Gompa.

Wandering from Mu Gompa through the middle valley is gratifying to experience. We trek down via Chule, Pangdun, Phurbe, and Lar villages. From Lar village, we reach the impressive Rachhen Gompa in about 4 hours. Ranchen Gompa, a nunnery of the Nagk-pa sect established in 1905, has rich interior painted with murals portrays Buddhism and its history.

We can either spend the night at Ranchen Gompa or can go to Lamagaun for the night's rest.

Starting the trek early is better as we have a good bit of distance to cover today. We trek from Ranchen Gompa/Lamagaun through the village of Chhokung and Paro and hike to Domje. We can have early lunch at Domje.
We then climb firmly, crossing two high bridges over deep narrow gorges up to Ripchet. This farming village is situated far above Siyar river on a ridge and looks poorer than other villages of Tsum. Nevertheless, we enjoy the barley and buckwheat fields of Ripchet village and its Chortens in the contour of the pine forest.

Then, we descend carefully to Gumlung at the bank of Sarli River. After crossing Sarli River, we walk through the undulating trail and then take the final ascent through the beautiful temperate forest back to Lokpa. A lot of ascents and descents walks are there today so, we have a long day today!

Lokpa is a pleasant village from where we will take the fork towards Manaslu trail tomorrow. The big green village on the flat plateau high above the Budhi Gandaki on the opposite side is Nyak village.

Leaving Lokpa, we will cross the Budhi Gandaki River and walk north towards the Manaslu trail. We will leave the trail to Nyak on the left, and ascend gradually along a wide, hillside trail into an open pine forest. However, we can opt-out the route via Nyak village if you want to make today's trek comparatively easier. 

We will then cross the river two more times over steel suspension bridges and walk through a dense forest full of rhododendrons, bamboo, and wildflowers. As we climb, we should not miss out the beautiful views of Ganesh Himal IV.

After about an hour of moderately easy climbing, we leave the cramped gorge, cross the Deng Khola, and then climb briefly to the settlement of Deng. We will have views of the Ganesh Himal to our back and Lapuchen and Dwijen Himal to the north.

Ahead of Deng, we descend steeply and get to Rana Village. We will then climb through the beautiful pine forest arriving at Bihi Phedi. We can see an impressive view of Kutang Himal from here as well as artistic mani stones along the trail, indicating we are entering a Buddhism-influenced region in Manaslu.

Relishing views of Kutang Himal, we will now leave Bihi Phedi. Little ahead, we will reach Bihi village and see very artistic mani stones, a sign that indicates we are entering again on a Buddhism-influenced area of high Himalaya. These particular mani stones were carved by stone carvers from Bihi Village. At the foothills of Sringi Himal, Serang Gompa (3100m) is one of Guru Rimpoche’s universal mediation sites.

Leaving Ghap, we scale up for two hours through a dense forest of fir, rhododendron, bamboo and oaks, crossing the Budhi Gandaki twice on newly built suspension bridges, and continue to climb stone steps. We might notice Danphe, the national bird of Nepal, or grey langurs with their long tails along the trail in the forest.

Today, we will reach the alpine territory and treat ourselves with broad mountain views. We will eventually come to Namrung, the first village in Nubri inhabited by Tibetan speaking a dialect of western Tibet.

Past Namrung, we walk through extensive barley fields and pastures and reach the settlement of Banjam. Again after climbing steeply, we reach the picturesque village of Lihi (2920m). The walk today pleases us early due to the impressive views of Ngadi Himal and Manaslu North.

Soon upon reaching the Chorten we enter the beautiful village of Sho. We walk past beautiful, billowing fields of vibrant green buckwheat, wheat, and barley. We see spectacular views of Ngadi Chuli from Sho. Sho also houses two monasteries.
One more small descent out of Sho, and after crossing a small stream, we reach the tiny hamlet of Shrip where we may see local women busy weaving colorful rungs.

We will now take a short but steep climb up to the village of Lho with a new Chorten. Lho is a lively, green, sprawling village adorned with prayer flags where we will find local women weaving on their wooden looms. The Lho village houses colorful Nyingma Rimjung Gompa where more than 100 monks study.  We may take some time to explore the Lho village, its ancient mani stones, beautiful chortens in the backdrop of spectacular Mt. Manaslu.

Ahead we walk past rolling barley fields, descend, cross a small stream, and then ascend through light forests next to a small river until we reach a small hydroelectric hut. From here we’ll hike up through a pine forest. Soon we will reach Hong Sangbu Gompa which is by Musithang Kharka, a seasonal herding spot with fantastic views of the surrounding peaks.

Then we descend just a bit to an old mill where local women of Shayla are often roasting barley and grinding it to make tsampa. Next, we reach the high, idyllic summer settlement of Shayla, a hamlet of new lodges and old summer houses from where we can see extensive mountain panoramas.

We cross a stream that is the drainage from the Pung Gyen Glacier and then ascend next to the small stream. We now take a side trip to get to Pung Gyen monastery, which sits beautifully at the backdrop of Mt. Manaslu. We will walk carefully through the slippery path via Numla Khola and the lateral moraine of the Pung Gyen glacier. Looking down the valley, the views over blue, glacial lakes and this massive, sand and boulder-strewn glacier look supernatural! We will get to see grand views of Mount Manaslu once we get nearby to the monastery. After enjoying the panorama, we return to the main Manaslu trail and walk to Sama Gaun.

Sama Gaun (3660m) is a relatively larger village on the Manaslu Circuit trek that sits at the base of Mount Manaslu. Settled by Tibetan origin people, the residents are Buddhist. We can see the prayer wheels, mani stones, and Ribung monastery at the village, signifying the sincere Buddhist faith of the residents of Sama Gaun.

We can wander through the pathways of Sama and observe its stone houses with wooden decks and shingles that look similar to the houses of Lho and Lihi villages. Tibetan origin people have been living here elevated stone houses with animal pens underneath their homes. Yaks and dzobkios share the narrow passages with small waterways running in the middle and planks to bridge the two sides. With all this, we will feel like we have gone back into time when we wander around these settlements.

An acclimatization day at Sama Gaun allows our body to acclimatize with the thin air environment before proceeding to higher elevations. We shall remain active and trek to higher elevations per the high altitude acclimatization rule. Thus, we will go towards Glacial Birendra lake for a short acclimatization hike.

If we have a lot of energy and interest to explore more, we can also to Manaslu Base Camp which is about 7-8 hours of walk.

An early start is good for the best views and also to avoids snow burn due to sunlight reflected by the glacier. The trail offers fantastic views of Manaslu Glacier, Birendra lake, and the typical village Samagaun. During the Manaslu climbing period, we will find Manaslu Base Camp full of climbers, guides/sherpas, porters, and tents.

As we walk towards the base camp and gain altitude, the Himalayan landscape becomes more sensational with the nearest glacier, Manaslu peak, Naike Peak, and the views of surrounding hills. The final part of the trip is to climb between 4400-4800m, which is steeper with snow and ice (depending upon season). After reaching Manaslu Base Camp (4800m), we will feel like being in the abode of mountains. Finally, we will trek back to Sama Gaun for the overnight rest.

We can savor the stunning view of sunrise over Mt. Manaslu and other mountains if we wake up early.

Today's walk is short so that we can leave Samagaun leisurely. We will cross a small bridge and walk west towards Manaslu Base Camp and Birendra Lake along the lateral moraine. We will then walk up through the woods on a dirt trail, past juniper, birch, and rhododendron. We will then see the lake below us, and get closer to the impressive icefall of the Manaslu Glacier. We will be trekking more to over 4000 meters to help acclimatization.

After crossing a brook and heading north, we will trek past the rough woods of Himalayan birch during the walk up to Samdo. We will then pass by the left side of the long Mani walls at Kyonggma Kharka and eventually spot Chorten of Samdo. After, we walk back to the Budhi Gandaki and cross a small bridge leading to a short climb to Samdo.

Similar to Sama Gaun, the inhabitants of Samdo are Tibetan descendants. We will have plenty of time to walk around the village where the inhabitants live an inherently Tibetan lifestyle, looking after their sheep, yaks, goats, horses, and barley fields. There is also a small monastery in Samdo.

In today's short trek, we will leave Samdo and follow the old trade route towards the Tibet border.

We cross a small bridge and climb west above the ruins of Larkya Bazaar walking past meadows, grassy plateaus filled with lichened stones, dwarf juniper bushes, and rhododendron. The landscape becomes more and more beautiful as we reach the other side of the valley that tumbles down from Manaslu and Manaslu North peaks holding a stunning views of Glacier.

Finally, we arrive at Dharmasala, the high camp for the Larkya La pass where we might even spot herds of blue sheep in the barren slopes nearby. The temperature here is freezing, so it would be better we spend a relaxed afternoon and help keep ourselves warm.

Its your choice if you want to hike up either of the ridges surrounding Samdo valley or hike up alongside the small spring-fed stream back of the teahouse and enjoy the birds, marmots, blue sheep, etc. We can see impressive views of Naike Peak to the south and the tip of Manaslu in the front.

We start our trek early at dawn. with a walk about half an hour on a relatively easy track. Then we will walk along the right side of the lateral moraine of the Larkye Glacier and then through the narrow bottom of the valley. We will then reach the ablation valley on the northside of the Larkye Glacier, from where we will have views of Ganesh Himal I on the east and Larkye peak to the west.

Next, we will walk across the undulating glacial moraine, which is often snowy. In about two hours, we will reach a small hut at an altitude of 4920 m. From here, its about two more hours to reach the top of Larkye pass, walking past small ridges, and a frozen lake. As we reach the top of Larkya La, the sublime panorama will be waiting to give us a treat.

Looking back we will see Samdo peak and peaks bordering Tibet and Larkye peak on the southeast. On the west rises Kang Guru, Himlung Himal, Cheo Himal, and Gyagi Kung and Annapurna II.

We will savor the panorama despite the wind and then start ascending through a razor-edge ridge followed by a steep drop. The trail here is often slippery and icy. We then follow the left side of the Salpu Danda Glacier moraine through a ragged path.

After a quick lunch, we will then traversing downhill with another steep section ahead with views of meadows with dwarf rhododendron, primulas, and azalea. Finally, after about three hours of strenuous downhill walk, we will reach the beautiful hamlet of Bimthang.

We might see blue sheep, Pika, marmot and Tibetan snow-cock tracks in the snow, and even snow leopard's paw prints today at the end of the day!

It is one of the longest days of your trek. However, the routes now are easy to travel. Our final destination for the day is Dharapani which extends from Gorkha to Manang District.

Today we will descend to Hompuk, trekking through deep forests full of pine trees and rhododendrons, and cross a glacial stream. From Hompuk, we will take trails leading us to Dudh Koshi River through woods, getting a fantastic view of Marsyangdi Valley.

Then the trail crosses a landslide-affected route and later crosses fields before climbing over a ridge full of prayer flags. This trail comes off the ridge and down to the river bank, finally leading us to Gho village.

Trekking further through the forests of rhododendrons and oak trees, we will reach Tilije, a Gurung village famous for its local Brandy. It will take approximately six hours to get to Tilje from Bimthang.

After a little break in Tilje, we will climb over a small ridge and enjoy stone-paved trails as it passes through a beautiful village. Then we will cross a bridge over Dudh Khola, pass a mani wall, and reach Thonje village. You will find many checkpoints on the way to Dharapani from here.

Passing beautiful villages and mani walls, we will finally reach Dharapani, an entry point for the Annapurna Circuit trek.

We will take a direct route from Dharapani to Besishar which will take about 4 hours. From Besisahar, the roads will be smooth and we will reach Kathmandu via the Prithvi Highway within 5-6 hours with breaks in between the rides.

drive time: 9-10 hours

Today your Tsum Valley and Manaslu Circuit Trek ends formally. If you have more time before leaving to airport, you can do some shopping or sightseeing. Approximately 3 hours before your scheduled flight a representative from Icicles Adventure Treks and Tour will take you to the airport for your flight back home. We hope Nepal has captivated you to come back again!