The Trek Into The Tsum Valley

To get to the Tsum Valley, we have to hire a vehicle and driver from Kathmandu to Arughat, which is a day's drive (120 km!)northwest of the capital. We start trekking at Arughat, as that's where the road ends,and follow the Bhuri Gandaki River north up to Lokpa, and then into the Tsum along the Shiar Khola River. We estimate it will be about 120 km up (one way) and take us maybe a week (depending on conditions); then after spending some time up in the higher elevation areas over 3500m (around 12,000 feet), we'll go back down the same way.

We (the O'Neills) will be trekking to the Tsum at the same time as the Doells will be trekking in the Solu Khumbu, from Lukla up towards (and perhaps even to) Everest Base Camp. That's to the northeast of Kathmandu. We'll be roughly at the same latitude, and similar altitudes, but many, many valleys and kilometers (miles) apart.