About Tsum Valley Trek
Tsum Valley Trek takes us to the remote beautiful hidden valley, and the land of monasteries & hamlets with a population of the Tibetan descendant – lies on the northern part of Gorkha on the Nepal-Tibet border. Tsum comes from the Tibetan word “Tsombo” which means vivid. Traditionally, Tsum used to be a separate area different from both Nepal and Tibet, and this place used to be a famous salt trading route. It was a restricted area until 2008. The Tsum Valley region still receives very less number of tourists compared to other tourist areas, with relatively unexplored and off the beaten paths. It’s a great option for those trekkers who are looking for an alternative trekking route to the more popular and crowded Annapurna trek.
The people of the Tsum valley has a unique culture and tradition, which have been preserved heavily for a long time. The people of this place have their unique way of life, which may be quite unusual for outsiders. Like a practice called polyandry where all the brothers in the family are married to a single girl. The Tsum Valley trek is an amazing mixture of cultural and natural beauty like different ethnic villages, dense forests, mountains, deep gorges, hamlets, gompas, chortens, and mani walls.
The Tsum Valley treks offer a panoramic view of numerous marvelous mountains like the Ganesh Himal, Shringi Himal, and Boudha Himal. The ancient Buddhist Gompas in the region including the Milarepa's Cave, Rachen Gompa, Mu Gompa, and Nunnery Gompa are the places not to be missed. The trek starts from Sotikhola, continuing through the same route as of Manaslu circuit up to the place near Nyak. Then we leave the Manaslu circuit trail without crossing the river and continue for the Tsum valley. After reaching Mu Gompa, we return from the same route and end the trek at the same point, Sotikhola.