Manaslu Tsum Valley Heli Trek

NHT will greet you at the airport and bring you to the hotel.

We will begin our sightseeing tour of Kathmandu Valley today.

The tour includes visits to cultural heritage sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List, such as Kathmandu Durbar Square, Swayambhunath Temple, Pashupatinath temple, and Bouddhanath Stupa. Because of their distinctive architectural integrity, these historic sites evoke a sense of nostalgia. Enjoy the opulent palaces, literary quintessence, ancient priceless paintings and sculptures, and Nepal’s brief biography.

We will drive to Macha Khola. The first four hours are on paved roads to Dhading Besi, the district headquarters of Dhading (1050m), but Macha Khola’s segment will be on rougher surf.

We will travel through the Tatopani hot springs after passing the Machha River and Khrolabesi. The path winds through the woods before we reach the Budhi Gandaki Valley, where we cross the Dovan Khola. The landscape changes dramatically as the elevation rises before we approach Jagat, white sandy areas along the riverbank.

We must complete the ACAP procedure in Jagat. We start today’s journey by ascending over a rocky ridge to Salleri and then descending to Sirdibas via a flat level course. The valley widens slightly as the trail climbs to Ghatta Khola. Philim is a large village populated mainly by Gurung. The town is well-known for its Japanese-built schools and police stations. We reach Chisopani after walking past Philim to the north via a forest with views of the shrinking valley.

We leave Chisopani and walk for about 30 minutes through the gorge, where we can see a large and stunning waterfall. This day is challenging because there is a climbing path that runs almost the road’s whole length. We descend through the pine and rhododendron tree forest to the path that leads to Tsum Valley. Trekkers can see panoramic views of the mountains along the way.

As we continue our journey, we pass through Lokpa, a small but lovely village. It lies along the old trail. We must descend for half an hour to Lungwa Khola and then climb for two hours north through pines and rhododendrons before reaching Gumlung. We arrive in Chumling after passing the Siyar Khola, which lies in the valley’s lower reaches. Chumling lies on the south face of the Shingri Himal, with a stunning view of the Shringi Himal. You can also tour the old Chumling Gompa and the village’s stone streets.

Today, after breakfast in Chumling, we begin our walk to Chokhangparo by crossing the river’s suspension bridge on the opposite bank

The breathtaking views of the valley and Ganesh Himal more than compensate for today’s walk. Then we travel across fertile agricultural land rich in maize and potatoes. The houses are traditional Tibetan, with firewood barricades on the roofs but no flat roofs since it rains and snows here. Cross a massive slip where rocks and floodwaters cleared the field even up onto the opposite bank, killing five people in 1999, but a forest of new trees now replaces it. Spectacular views of Ganesh Himal and long suspension bridges on the way up the valley to the east are visible.

We climb for over two hours on a well-graded but exposed trail to upper Tsum and the enter villages of Chokhangparo, stone houses with a few iron roofs nestled under cliffs, passing through Rainjam crossing Serpu Khola. Chokhangparo is a flat land village comprised of two towns, Chokhang and Paro. The region follows Tibetan Buddhism; thus, you will see the influence of Tibetan Buddhism prevalent in Nepal. If weather permits, you will see a splendid view of Himalchuli (7893m) and Ganesh Himal (7140m).

When you climb from Chokhangparo, you may experience symptoms of altitude sickness. As a result, we recommend that you take care and drink lots of water to stay hydrated. We travel east, passing through small villages and a local school. The beautiful view here brings our trek to a halt in honor of the beautiful nature. We gradually ascend over a chorten mountain, passing Lama Gaon (3202m) through the flat fields, looking across the vast crops field and river to the massive courtyard of the Rachen Gompa/ Nunnery Gompa (3240m) with excellent pilgrim accommodation. The Himalayan Thar dominated these terrains; hence you will get to see them a lot. The people speak Tsumba, which is similar to the Tibetan language. We can also pay a brief visit before crossing the Shiyar Khola, passing through the hamlets of Phurbe (3251m) and Pangdun (3258m). We’ll also go through an unusual round stupa before arriving at the larger village of Chhule (3347m) via an impressive entrance gate.

Then we pass through the well-kept villages of Lar (micro hydropower), Phurbe, and Pangdun. We exit the old historic Buddha Stupa in a way that crosses the town of Chhule. The children here all wear chubas, which are Tibetan dressing gowns. Also, you will see many yaks grazing around the place.

Upstream to cross the bridge and ascend to the Nile (pronounced Nee-lay). In the upper Tsum valley, the Nile is the last village to the north. This village has a significant number of households and lies on the Shiar Khola banks. Both towns are typical, with livestock compounds built into the houses and protected huts to dry crops.

We’re getting close to the Tibetan border now. Trek through Tibetan landscapes to the valley’s west bank. Climb to the top of the Mu Gompa. This Mu Gompa is the region’s largest monastery. Mu Gompa lies at the highest and most isolated point in the Tsum Valley.

Leaving the charm of Tsum valley, we retrace our route back to Chumling.

We climb steeply up onto a beautiful trail before descending to cross the water. We go through a few small towns before ascending to an impressive valley. There, we come across Mani stones (prayer stones) cut into roadside cliffs, suggesting that we have reached Tibetan territory. We take a two-hour round trip excursion to the remote settlement of Prok in the afternoon.

We continue our journey from Namrung. The trek eventually ascends into the alpine, where you’ll catch the first sight of Mt. Manaslu and Manaslu north. After this, on the route, many locals dress in chubas.

After Lho, we walk through the stone gate and the village’s long Mani stone wall, with a perfect view of Peak 29 ahead. You can take a side trip to Pungen from here to get a close-up view of Manaslu. The trail leads the Pungen lateral moraine towards Sama.

It takes another 20 minutes to get to Sama Gompa for the night.

Explore/Sightseeing. You have choices for short or long hikes. The full-day hike is towards Manaslu Base Camp (approximately a 6-7 hour round trip). Alternatively, there are half-day walks either across the valley or to Birendra Tal.

Today, we take an exciting heli flight back to Kathmandu. From the flight, capture the aerial view of mountains and deep gorges in your mind.

Nepal Hiking Team’s representative will drop you off at the airport approximately 3 hours before your scheduled flight.