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- Feb 25, 2013
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Trekking with a Buddhist Monk?
Wonder what it might be like to travel with a Buddhist monk into the heart of the Himalayas? On our 20-day trek to the sacred Hidden Valley of Happiness in November, a Buddhist monk will trek with our group, all the way to the Tibetan border, and then we will fly out by helicopter! Here’s what 2012 trekkers said about the experience of traveling with a Buddhist monk…
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FLama-and-Calvin_by_Steve_Poulsen.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=a9bf889af3326e0dbc19d8026f44f8f5 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FLama-and-Calvin_by_Steve_Poulsen.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=e6845d43d2721d17bc72be00abe6d14f 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FLama-and-Calvin_by_Steve_Poulsen.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=2d4467ab451944b5f0c7ad1a8a4b150d 700w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FLama-and-Calvin_by_Steve_Poulsen.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=d0aa4aa93f97e7ec14d84ce332aeee46 800w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FLama-and-Calvin_by_Steve_Poulsen.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=735f3f9195cd4000704c963af3863c88 1000w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FLama-and-Calvin_by_Steve_Poulsen.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=578e33143b62c469dd8ac11d4673a09f 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FLama-and-Calvin_by_Steve_Poulsen.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=c37aea93ce3b735bc74e9b77c3ecfd52 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FLama-and-Calvin_by_Steve_Poulsen.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=ced6872a8a6b5b5b51f121c90a16be41 1024w)
Trekker Calvin Kwan talks with Lama Thubten Dorje on a
suspension bridge as we near Tsum Valley. Steve Poulsen photo
“When friends and family ask me why I chose this particular trip to Nepal, I reply that the combination of physical, cultural, and spiritual appealed to me. As I think back on my experience in the Tsum Valley — traveling with our 2 lamas was what made this trip a more authentic experience and one that will continue to stay with me. Having the time to daily sit and discuss topics such as happiness, compassion, and living our lives “with a pure heart” made this trip much more than a vacation or adventure. It helped me to understand the culture and the people of the area I was walking through on a much deeper level. I can’t say enough about this aspect of my journey. Thank you for making it happen!”
~ MM Trekker Jan Hanley
“Traveling with a lama was a first for me. It was an added bonus on a spiritual journey to the Tsum Valley and provided a deeper look into the culture of this isolated valley and its people as well as the will to preserve its culture. I was impressed how Lama Choedar paid his respect to the chortens and mani stones we passed (and there were so many). He would take a moment to stop and carefully straighten any mani stones that had fallen over. It was a pleasant experience to see how happy and content Lama Thubten and Lama Choedar were at all times. After trekking long distances on a trail that went up and down, muscles aching, Lama Thubten would smile, give the thumbs up and say “everything ok” and then tell fascinating Yeti stories in the dining tent.”
~ MM Trekker Gabriele Mathers
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FLama_Choedar_repairs_a_mani_wall_by_gabriele_mathers.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=20f18cedbf130452135207997ea87940 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FLama_Choedar_repairs_a_mani_wall_by_gabriele_mathers.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=6b7f85fc1fa305f217603aeda9b62c52 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FLama_Choedar_repairs_a_mani_wall_by_gabriele_mathers.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=1046bed2dd50ec3f259d6d3c352df74c 700w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FLama_Choedar_repairs_a_mani_wall_by_gabriele_mathers.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=4ae5ebaf0de07ce06077c47b76fa41a0 800w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FLama_Choedar_repairs_a_mani_wall_by_gabriele_mathers.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=c38427bc424f7b7a2b3aeb7168d978b1 1000w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FLama_Choedar_repairs_a_mani_wall_by_gabriele_mathers.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=b534a2aa2d8b19343df75c2795e5790d 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FLama_Choedar_repairs_a_mani_wall_by_gabriele_mathers.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=c803b86681c55c951c911af83133351c 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FLama_Choedar_repairs_a_mani_wall_by_gabriele_mathers.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=8dc4ae070893473b0003c0022d2b2a39 1024w)
Lama Choedar replaces fallen prayer stones at every sacred
mani wall we hike past. Gabriele Mathers photo
“The trek into Tsum Valley was satisfying and demanding in a great many ways. I had expected that travelling with a monk would give me a richer view of the Buddhist history of the valley and insights into its people, as indeed it did. I had perhaps underestimated how much I would be touched by the daily practices that evolved as we traveled together with not one, but two lamas. Genchoedar Lama’s tea-time teachings were simple and grounded in his own experience; the discussions stayed with me and I reflected on them as I made my way up and down the next day’s hills. Open-air meditations with Lama Dorje slowed body and mind at the end of each effortful day; I saw the mountains around us with greater clarity and with gratitude for simply being there.”
~ MM Trekker Stephanie Merrin
![](https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FRachen_Gompa_nuns_DZ_photo.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=300&s=0e02a4edc25193e48e26e9f8871b067c 300w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FRachen_Gompa_nuns_DZ_photo.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=500&s=12a42f808a4e38c44b6fb129672dbce1 500w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FRachen_Gompa_nuns_DZ_photo.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=700&s=27e182447bd35380f4308d5cf7298d90 700w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FRachen_Gompa_nuns_DZ_photo.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=800&s=bde86949d585710446da991c35ebe738 800w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FRachen_Gompa_nuns_DZ_photo.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1000&s=cc9bfb0ca634e3fcaa0a9cb90574f181 1000w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FRachen_Gompa_nuns_DZ_photo.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1200&s=e01b9e1d5f6397f209733608bd6a659e 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FRachen_Gompa_nuns_DZ_photo.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1400&s=7ed7d2ad949608e8b9de88ffa37627de 1024w, https://mountain-madness-external.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fkraftwerk-mountain-madness.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fblog%2FRachen_Gompa_nuns_DZ_photo.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&q=80&w=1600&s=3c2e9fcd85ff225c75a262959d419c2d 1024w)
Trekkers with the Buddhist Nuns of Rachen Monastery after a morning
blessing ceremony for our group. Deana Zabaldo photo