Manaslu/Tsum Valley

Our Airport representative will welcome you and explain the program further. There are no planned activities for the day, so check into the hotel. Enjoy your overnight stay at the hotel. 

Touring the World Heritage Sites in Kathmandu Valley that includes: Kathmandu Durbar Square, Swayambhunath Temple, Boudhanath Stupa and Pasupatinath Temple. Overnight at the Hotel (Breakfast Included).

You will be picked up by your guide from your hotel, at around 8 a.m. in the morning. We drive for 8 hours to Arughat. Four hours journey from Kathmandu to Dhading Besi (The district headquarter of Dhading (1050m) is a comfortable drive but the rest four hours, from Dhading Besi to Arughat, we will be driving on a rough road. We further drive for 1.5 hrs to Soti Khola in a public jeep. Overnight at Guesthouse (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Included).

Today, we follow a trail with constant ups and downs. We walk through the forest and continue upstream along the Budhi Gandaki. Then, we descend to a wide, sandy riverbed and continue along a winding mountain path overlooking the river. Stay overnight at Guesthouse (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Included).

The route climbs on a rugged rocky trail. We climb up and down ravines and notched trees. We get good views of Sringri Himal as we continue up to the village of Philim at 1550m.This is a large Gurung village with fields of corn and millet. There are several good campsites and we set up camp surrounded by alder, blue pine and poplar trees. Stay overnight at Guesthouse (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Included).

Philim to Ripche (2470m/8101ft) Duration: 6 hrs.
We take the trail up through Philim and head up over a ridge that leads to Ganesh Himal Base camp and Ripche (Lower Tsum). We stay at the night at Ripche. Overnight in local teahouse (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Included)

From Ripche we trek to Chhokangparo then Nile. Upper Tsum valley (part of the Inner Himalaya) open from Chhokangparo.Chhekamparo is a village situated on flat land and made up of two settlements Chhekam and Paro. From the valley, the Ganesh Himal range can be seen directly to the south where it provides spectacular views of the Baudha and Himal Chuli peaks to the south-west. Some households in this village practice polyandry. From Chhokangparo we trek to Nile/Chulle. This is the last village heading north in the upper Tsum Valley. Nile is on the western, sun-side of the Shiar Khola, about 20 minutes walk across from Chhule. On the way we pass the Piren Phu cave. Piren Phu (pigeon cave) is one of the most sacred caves in the Tsum valley. It is located at the foot of a rugged cliff near the village of Burji. Milarepa, the famous Tibetan saint, was believed to have meditated here. There are two separate Gompa attached to the rocky cave. Richly painted Buddhist murals, excellent artistic scripts carved on stones, long prayer flags and significant Buddhists paper scripts make this cave one of the most important socio-cultural asset in the valley. Overnight in local teahouse (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Included)

From Nile the trail gradually ascends to Mu Gumba, the largest monastery in the region. Mu Gumba is located at the highest and farthest point in the Tsum valley. Mu Gumba was established in 1895 AD and is situated at an altitude of 3510m.The monastery houses religious books, including Kangyur, a life sized statue of Avalokiteshwara, and images of Guru Padmasambhava and Tara.

Dephyudonma Gumba is one of the oldest monasteries in the Tsum Valley and is situated in the rugged mountains, a 2 hr walk from the village of Chhule and Nile. The history of this monastery is directly associated with the dawn of Buddhism in the valley. The monastery is run by Lama Serap of Nile Ladrang from the Kangi sect. There are a few campsites and drinking water facilities. Overnight in local teahouse (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Included)

Mu Gompa to Rachen Gompa (3240m/10630ft) Duration: 05 hrs.
From Mu Gumba we take the trail to Rachen Gumba, a nunnery. The nunnery is situated in the Shiar Khola Valley in the foothills of the mountains bordering Nepal and Tibet. Rachen Gumba was established in the year 1905 AD and is one of the largest nunneries in the Tsum valley. It houses nuns belonging to the Ngak-pa sect, which does not allow animal slaughter.

The nunnery houses one thousand clay, moulded statues of Avalokiteshwara, a brightly colored, carved throne and pillar, and a large prayer wheel. The interior is richly painted with murals about Buddhism and its history. Overnight in local teahouse.(Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Included)

We scramble steeply up onto a spectacular trail and descend to cross the river. We pass through some small settlements and ascend to an impressive valley where we encounter various Mani stones (prayer stones) carved into wayside rocks, a sign that we are entering a Tibetan territory. In the afternoon, we make an excursion to the small settlement of Prok. It is a two hour round trip. Overnight at Guesthouse (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Included).

We continue our trek from Namrung. We steadily climb up into the alpine where we see the first glimpse of Manaslu North and Manaslu. The stunning view of Manaslu is awe inspiring. Overnight at Guesthouse (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner included).

We pass the stone gate and a long Mani stone wall of the village, with full view of Peak 29 ahead. We can also make a side excursion to Pungen Glacier to get a close up view of Manaslu. The trial follows a lateral moraine of Pungen Glacier towards Sama. After another 20 minutes walk, we reach Sama Gompa where we stop for a night halt. Overnight at the Guesthouse (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Included).

This day has been set aside for acclimatization. An option for full or half day walks has been set aside. Full day walk is towards Manaslu Base Camp (approximately 6-7 hour round trip). Alternatively, there are half day walks either to the glacier across the valley or to Birendra Ta. Stay overnight at Guesthouse (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Included).

The trail crosses grazing areas and gradually climbs the valley. Fantastic views of the mountains especially Manaslu leads us to Samdo (3860m), a Tibetan refugee village. This remote village is only a day’s walk from the Tibetan border. After crossing a couple of streams, we reach the Larkya Bazaar, a village that thrived off trade with Tibet years ago. We reach a lodge at 4450m, after a steady climb. It is the last night before the pass. Overnight at the guesthouse (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Included).

We climb Cho Chanda and slowly head uphill towards the steep snowed-up pass. The panorama from the top is magnificent: Himlung Himal (7126meter), Cheo Himal (6820meters), Gyagi Kung, Kang Kuru (6981meters) and the Annapurna II (7937meters). Then, we descend steep, through moraines to Bhimphedi. Stay overnight at Guesthouse (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Included).

With a gentle climb through the paddy fields, we head towards Karcha La pass. The trial descends through fig trees and rhododendron forests to Tilje. Overnight at the guesthouse (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Included).

We climb over a small ridge and enjoy the stone paved trail as it passes through a beautiful village. We then cross the bridge over Dudh Khola and climb up through a Chorten-shaped arch, pass a mani wall and reach the Thonje village. At the village, we go through a police checkpoint and continue to Dharapani. We have entered the Annapurna circuit section from Dharapani.

Further down, we come across Karte village and after quite a bit of walking we cross a bridge over Marshyangdi Khola. We also come across some mani walls before reaching the village of Tal, situated at the foot of a large waterfall then short descend to Chamche village. Stay overnight at Guesthouse (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Included).

We catch a local jeep to Beshisahar and then drive to Kathmandu in a private car. Stay overnight at Hotel (Breakfast and Lunch Included).