Himalayan Adventures...Pt1 - The Tsum Valley.

Well, I'm back...and trekking in the Himalaya was absolutely amazing!
(I know it has not in fact been 20 days since my last post but this is because I have learn't to travel in time!)
So, we set off on October 1st to complete the Manaslu Circuit and Tsum Valley trek, we were trekking with 3 Sisters Adventure Trekking (http://www.3sistersadventure.com/) and set out with our guide Purno and assistant guide/porter Shyam.

The first few days of our trek were for me pretty challenging, especially the 3rd and 4th day which appeared to consist of going mostly uphill! The scenery was however beautiful and constantly changing, from the lush low lands where we passed banana plants and rice terraces, through the forests up towards the mountains. We crossed rivers on massive bridges - some a little more stable than others! ...and followed the winding trail away from civilisation! As we trekked from Khorlabesi to Philim we climbed up into the mountains and my waterproof jacket (recently re-waterproofed) turned out to be far from waterproof - Hmmm..Fail!  This was my only real setback which considering it only rained once wasn't so bad! From here things seemed a little easier, perhaps I had found my trekking stride?

The awesome children I hung out with in Khorlabesi.

Day 5 saw us heading for Chumling and the start of the Tsum Valley. This is pretty off the beaten track and takes us north east towards Tibet. Much of what we found here was therefore very Tibetan and considering I had previously hoped to see Tibet, I was treated to some very Tibetan villages and met some really interesting people, as well as having breakfast with a Lama and some nuns at a Monastery at 4000m. Here the Mountains surrounded us and the sun was hot... we sat on small carpets rolled out in the little courtyard, chatting with the Lama, drinking Tibetan tea and eating curried potato and pancakes (a standard breakfast here - a slight deviation on the usual meal Dhal Bhatt!) This was one of those unplanned and unexpected occasions but one we definitely enjoyed.

The view from our room in Mu Gompa

Breakfast with the Lama - 4000m

Following this, we descended quickly leaving the very cold nights and the altitude for later in the trek. We followed the river back through the valley passed small villages and returned to our guesthouse in Chhokangparo. (Guest house is perhaps not painting the right picture for you - So I have included a photo for you!) Some of the accommodation we stayed in was quite basic, often a little chilly (not all of them had glass in the windows!) but all were more or less built and I think there was only one night when I was woken by a mouse/rat/yeti (?!) whilst I tried to sleep!

My room in Chhokangparo