In Nepal’s hidden valley

{"text":[[{"start":4.9,"text":"As we walk up to the Buddhist stupa, tucked against the mountains just above the Syar Khola River, the chiming of bells carries towards us on the breeze. But when the shrine comes fully into view, no one is there to ring them. "}],[{"start":18.15,"text":"The tiny village of Lar sits across the river and the monastery of Rachen Gompa lies down the path but my husband, our Nepali guide and I are the only souls nearby. Eventually, we come upon the source of the chiming: on either side of the entrance arch, water turns small prayer wheels. Each rotation rings a little bell, its sound carrying into the empty surrounds."}],[{"start":42.849999999999994,"text":"Up close, the stupa is a staggering example of craftsmanship, with intricately carved lotus flowers, dragons and other vivid designs. Prayer flags stream from its pinnacle. We’re bathed in gentle spray from a waterfall streaming down from the mountains behind, their 6,000-metre summits lost in the clouds."}],[{"start":63.949999999999996,"text":"Whether or not anyone sees it, this stupa was made to send prayers for peace, happiness and enlightenment out on the winds. And it’s not alone. Ancient scriptures say that Guru Rinpoche, the eighth-century priest credited with spreading Buddhism into the Himalayas, blessed the Tsum Valley as a beyul, a place of refuge and peace revered in Tibetan Buddhism. Shrines like this, along with monasteries and mani walls, are dotted throughout it."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":92.35,"text":"When Ben and I asked our guide for quieter hiking options, he had immediately suggested this valley, pressed close to the Tibetan border. Tsum (pronounced “chum”) lies off the better-known Manaslu Circuit trek, a 12-day itinerary that winds around the world’s eighth-highest peak. Many visitors to Tsum add it on as a six-day out-and-back detour before continuing along the Manaslu Circuit."}],[{"start":115.85,"text":"Trekking as a leisure pursuit arrived in Nepal in the 1950s, took off in the 1980s and despite hiatuses caused by Covid, periods of political unrest and the earthquake of 2015, has continued to grow. Last year, 47,524 foreign tourists visited the Everest region (with most concentrated on the single trail to base camp), while 313,549 visited the Annapurna Conservation Area. The Manaslu Circuit, which opened to foreigners in 1991, drew 14,720 while the Tsum Valley — which only opened to tourism in 2008 after lobbying from community leaders — welcomed just 2,513. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":160.89999999999998,"text":"That may change in the coming years. Tsum used to be four days’ walk from where the road ended at Soti Khola but the government is constructing a rugged jeep track up through the Manaslu Circuit to bring vital resources to these remote rural communities. Now, the road ends just north of the village of Jagat and as it extends further, trekkers preferring not to dodge motorcycles and jeeps are increasingly likely to head into the quieter Tsum, where there are no roadbuilding plans. As more tourists visit, it becomes ever more important that they do so in a way that helps preserve a culture and ecosystem so little exposed to outside influence."}],[{"start":198.09999999999997,"text":"It’s a wonder there are any roads at all in this impossibly steep country shot through with deep river gorges. After the tarmac ends a few hours west of Kathmandu, it’s another six rattle-your-teeth-loose hours in a Land Rover to Jagat. We spend one night in the village, while our guide Rocken Lama secures our permits (the Tsum remains a restricted area and trekking is prohibited without a guide and permit)."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":222.34999999999997,"text":"It quickly becomes clear that we’ve hit the guide jackpot with Rocken, 31, who grew up south of Kathmandu and speaks four languages fluently. He is quick to laugh, attentive to ensuring we have the best experience possible but also deeply respectful of the people, culture and wild landscapes, quietly teaching us how to behave well as guests."}],[{"start":243.79999999999995,"text":"After a few hours of hiking with our packs from Jagat through the hot valley, we arrive at a fork in the trail. A suspension bridge across the Budhi Gandaki River carries the trail as it continues on the Manaslu Circuit, while a path rising uphill heads to the Tsum. We take the turning, soon pausing to let a mule train go by on the precipitous trail. "}],[{"start":266.34999999999997,"text":"Everything in the villages above us, from food to refrigerators to solar panels, is brought up by mules, yaks, or on someone’s back. There’s nothing to silence a weary trekker’s complaints like being overtaken by a seventy-year-old wearing sandals and carrying sixteen plastic chairs strapped to his forehead."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":284.34999999999997,"text":"A red decorated arch welcomes us to Tsum; beyond it is a sign advising us of the rules in the valley. The Tsumba people who live here practise Shyagya, a culture of non-violence rooted in religion. No killing of animals, hunting or trapping is allowed, nor is collecting honey, trading meat or burning forests. From here on out, all visitors are vegetarian. "}],[{"start":308.9,"text":"We pass two young women on their way down the trail and Rocken suggests we try the Tibetan phrase to convey blessings and greetings (although Tsum is part of Nepal, people here speak Tibetan)."}],[{"start":320.29999999999995,"text":"“Tashi delek,” I say hesitantly. The women laugh at my terrible pronunciation but return the greeting anyway."}],[{"start":328.29999999999995,"text":"We arrive in Lokpa (also known as Lakuwa) not long after, a small village with three teahouses typical of the basic but comfortable lodging up here: a shared common space, squat toilets and a shared hot shower — if there’s propane on hand. We’re tired and sweaty from five hours of hiking up 900 metres and after a dinner of fried potatoes with eggs and vegetables, we’re ready to retire to our simple room and fall asleep with the windows open to the breeze and the rushing of the river below."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":356.49999999999994,"text":"But we discover another guest has made itself at home on Ben’s bed: a large furry spider. I escape to the common room while Ben and Rocken attempt to corral it, their exclamations and, yes, squeals floating down the corridor. Rocken eventually hurries past me with a bundle of toilet paper and releases it into the garden. No exceptions to the non-violence rule, even for unwelcome creepy crawlies. "}],[{"start":383.99999999999994,"text":"The following day, as we hike to Chumling, we come upon our first mani wall, made of flat stones exquisitely engraved with Tibetan words and images, often of the different Buddhas. Many of the stones bear the mantra “om mani padme hum”; the patient effort of carving them is itself a form of prayer and meditation. The ones gone dark with lichen, Rocken explains, are at least 400 years old. He leads us to the left around the wall in a gesture of respect to the Buddhist devotional practice of circumambulating a sacred place or object in a clockwise direction."}],[{"start":420.49999999999994,"text":"The trail then introduces us to what Rocken calls “Nepali flat”: although Chumling is less than one hundred metres higher than Lokpa, we’ll end up descending sharply to a river before climbing again, notching up almost a thousand metres of ascent. We navigate uncountable concrete stairs, the construction of which, all the way out here, is mind-blowing. So is watching mules hang tight turns on switchbacks beside deadly drop-offs. We hear the mules coming before we see them; all livestock out here is adorned with bells. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":453.74999999999994,"text":"When we make it to Chumling, a village on an improbable plateau above a river gorge, we pass beneath a traditional arched gateway known as a kani. Rocken advises us to remove our hats as we walk under its Buddhist murals. The gates were built to protect villages and sacred sites, and are believed to bring good fortune while keeping evil away."}],[{"start":476.1499999999999,"text":"We stay at a lovely teahouse called, aptly, Tashi Delek. Just two other parties are staying here: a group of four young Britons and a solo American woman. I chat with Karma Lama, the son of the hotel owners, who tells me that fewer than 300 people live in Chumling (and only 175 all year round). Karma studied Buddhist philosophy in India for several years and now lives in Kathmandu, only returning to help his family during the trekking seasons in the spring and autumn. He says he loves village life but needs change, too."}],[{"start":510.5999999999999,"text":"The following morning, Ben and I wake early and beg some hot water from the kitchen, where Karma and the rest of his family have been up since 4am preparing for the day. The towering face of the Ganesh Himal range that defines the upper Tsum, disappointingly shrouded in clouds yesterday, is now astonishing in the burnished dawn light. "}],[{"start":531.2499999999999,"text":"It begins to feel like there are surprises around every corner: soaring mountains, yaks with colourful earrings, suspension bridges seemingly constructed by magic, WiFi in teahouses in the most remote villages (we eventually stop turning it on, preferring to be disconnected). In the upper reaches of the valley we reach Mu Gompa, a centuries-old monastery at 3,240 metres, full of books brought over the border from Tibet after China invaded in 1950. Only 6km from the border, it marks our turn-around point, where we start our long walk out."}],[{"start":566.2499999999999,"text":"Later, a woman in a tiny village where we stop for lunch proudly introduces us to her two-month-old daughter. These days, most women go all the way to Kathmandu to deliver their babies, she says, walking several days to a bus stop at six or seven months pregnant. She hiked all the way back up here only a month after giving birth."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":586.2499999999999,"text":"All over the valley, people are quick to tell us that no one was injured here in the 2015 earthquake, though it killed almost 9,000 people across Nepal, injured more than 22,000 and displaced 2.8mn. This seems all the more incredible given the fact that the epicentre was in this district, but the Tsumba attribute the phenomenon to their practice of Shyagya."}],[{"start":610.2999999999998,"text":"Along the whole of this journey, Rocken guides us in removing our shoes and hats at monasteries, and ensuring my shoulders are covered at religious sites. We try to eat all of our generous portions of food, given so much of it is brought up with considerable effort. We pick up any trash we find along the trail. We’re quiet when we see wildlife, like the tahr (a Himalayan mountain goat) that crosses the trail only metres from us."}],[{"start":634.3499999999998,"text":"As we leave the Buddhist stupa near Lar, with its prayers carried to the world on the wind, a group of little boys comes running up, surrounding us and offering high fives. One takes Rocken’s hand and leads him for a while towards Rachen Gompa, before they all peel off to go back to their tiny schoolhouse. "}],[{"start":652.7999999999998,"text":"At Rachen Gompa, a new monastery is being built close to the old one. It’s been under construction for three years and won’t be completed until 2027. We’re allowed inside, to climb a rickety timber ladder up the scaffolding that spirals around the domed interior. On the top are three men painting murals on the ceiling in bright colours: a modern continuation of the valley’s long history as a beyul of peace and refuge. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":680.0499999999998,"text":"Cassidy Randall paid $1,750 per person for her 21-day trip with Rocken Lama (somewhereinthehimalayas.com) in May, which included both the Manaslu Circuit and Tsum Valley trek, as well as transfers, teahouses and hotel stays in Kathmandu and three meals per day while trekking. The usual trekking season runs from March to May and September to November. "}],[{"start":704.4999999999999,"text":"Find out about our latest stories first — follow FT Weekend on Instagram, Bluesky and X, and sign up to receive the FT Weekend newsletter every Saturday morning"}],[{"start":719.3999999999999,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1784333295_7115.mp3"}