The Tsum Valley — A Unique and Sacred Region

You may have heard that we’re get­ting real­ly excit­ed about our upcom­ing debut of the Tsum Val­ley Trek in Nepal. We can’t help it! It real­ly is going to be a spe­cial adven­ture for our trekkers. We have enjoyed many years of trekking to Ever­est Base Camp and learn­ing about the Nepalese cul­ture through our client-favorite guide Deana Zabal­do. How­ev­er, when clients fin­ish their trek through the Khum­bu Val­ley, they are often return­ing to us ask­ing ​“how can we go back to that beau­ti­ful place?”

If you are one of those peo­ple who fell in love with the peo­ple, cul­ture and land­scapes of Nepal, it may be time for you to explore anoth­er equal­ly intrigu­ing region. Our trekkers will be some of the first to expe­ri­ence this well-pre­served val­ley, pass­ing through remote vil­lages where peo­ple still depend on agri­cul­ture, trad­ing and graz­ing herds of yak. This region emanates the deep spir­i­tu­al pow­er that Bud­dhists hold close in their belief. Many Bud­dhists pur­su­ing enlight­en­ment come here to med­i­tate and believe that when mas­sive strife comes to the world, this val­ley is where they can seek refuge.

The Tsum Val­ley. Deana Zabal­do photo

Trav­el­ling through the Tsum sev­er­al years ago, Deana heard of a Bud­dhist, Lama Geshe, who reached a cer­tain lev­el of spir­i­tu­al excel­lence. At the famous Kopan Monastery, she met a Lama, named Gen­choedar, who told her of a 6‑year-old boy who is Lama Geshe’s rein­car­na­tion. His matu­ri­ty and wis­dom is that of an old soul in a new body. She was for­tu­nate enough to be invit­ed into a locked room above a Tantric alter where she was allowed to see the pearl-type relics of Lama Geshe that formed after his cre­ma­tion. By join­ing Deana in the Tsum, our trekkers may be for­tu­nate enough to vis­it this spe­cial Bud­dhist site. 

Gen­choedar, a Bud­dhist Lama. Deana Zabal­do photo

With a his­to­ry dat­ing back to the 8^th cen­tu­ry, the only way to tru­ly enjoy and learn about this spe­cial place is to trav­el with a Bud­dhist Lama. Accom­pa­ny­ing Deana, his knowl­edge of the val­ley, ties to the region and reli­gion, and gen­er­al pleas­ant demeanor as a reli­gious teacher in the ​“Hid­den Val­ley of Hap­pi­ness,” will sure­ly pro­vide you with the best expe­ri­ence in an area of Nepal that only recent­ly opened to tourism. Take advan­tage of the cul­tur­al teach­ings with­out the feel­ing of a reli­gious retreat. Regard­less of your beliefs, you will sure­ly find this unique and rare addi­tion to the trekking group to be enjoy­able and rewarding. 

Our debut trip begins Novem­ber 6, 2012. Con­tact us to find out how you can join this unique new adven­ture in the moun­tain val­leys of Nepal.