Touch The Himalaya Treks & Expedition P. Ltd

My friend and I have just completed the Manasulu / Tsum valley trek and can’t recommend it highly enough – but go soon as there’s lots of evidence of its growing popularity. And be prepared for an intense physical challenge: 30 degree heat down to freezing; “Nepali flat” all the way (ie quite a lot of up and quite a lot of down); routine vertiginous drops, effects of altitude, etc.

All of this, however, is easily outweighed by stunning and varied scenery, local culture, lovely people and not too much tourism. Passing briefly through the tail end of the Annapurna circuit made us SO glad we’d chosen our route. We spent about 5 days In Tsum (but could’ve taken longer) and trekked for 18 days in total. 3 or 4 days R&R in Pokhara at the end is definitely the thing to do at the end.

Having a good guide / agent is key to having a good experience. We booked through Touch The Himalaya. Madan Neupane, the guy in charge, was friendly, efficient, experienced and proactive in meeting our needs – and also very fair in what he did or didn’t charge us for.

He fixed us up with the guide to die for: Ram Adhikari. Ram was experienced, full of local knowledge, very concerned for our welfare and above all fun and friendly (not something every trekker seemed to be experiencing). Ask for him by name if you can when you book.

Go soon – before you’re too old or it changes!