Tsum Valley altitude: how high the trek goes, and how it climbs

The altitude profile

The highest you stand is Mu Gompa, at about 3,700m. The highest you sleep is Nile, 3,361m. Only three nights are above 3,000m: Chhokangparo twice and Nile once.

How that compares with our other treks

Tsum is the gentlest altitude profile we run by a long way. It's the trek to choose if you want restricted-area quiet without a high pass.

How the climb is paced

The one big jump is Day 4, Jagat to Lokpa, where you gain 900m. It's a 6 to 7 hour day through forest, and you still finish below 2,500m.

After that the steps are small. Day 5 to Chumling is only 146m. Days 6 and 7 add 624m and 351m. You're never asked to sleep more than a few hundred meters higher than the night before once you're above 2,500m.

Climb high, sleep low at Mu Gompa

Day 8 is the high day. You walk up from Nile to Mu Gompa, spend some time there, and come back down the valley to sleep at Chhokangparo (3,010m). You touch about 3,700m and sleep 690m lower. It's the same idea behind the rest days on our harder treks, which we explain in how acclimatization is built into our itineraries.

The Mu Gompa day is long, 8 to 9 hours, so tiredness is more likely than altitude to be what you notice. Our Mu Gompa post covers the day.

Altitude still matters above 3,000m

A gentle profile doesn't mean altitude is irrelevant. Above 3,000m some people get mild symptoms: a headache, poor sleep, less appetite. Those usually settle with rest, water and not going higher. The answer for anything more is the simplest one available on this route: walk down, because lower ground is never far away in Tsum. This is general guidance, not medical advice.

What your guide does. Your guide carries a first aid kit, a pulse oximeter and a standing evacuation plan, and checks how you're doing each day as you climb. Our post on altitude sickness on Manaslu describes the signs and checks in more detail. The same approach applies here.

What you do. Walk slowly, drink plenty, tell your guide how you feel, and talk to your doctor before the trip if you're thinking of carrying Diamox. It's on our packing list for that reason.

Insurance. Travel insurance with high-altitude evacuation cover isn't included, so you'll need to arrange it.

Who the altitude suits

Tsum is a good choice if you've done some multi-day trekking and want a restricted-area trek with an easier altitude profile than Manaslu, Kanchanjunga or Makalu. We still wouldn't recommend it as your very first trek, because the days are long and the trails steep in places.

It's also a fine stepping stone. After a week topping out at 3,700m, you'll know a lot more about how you handle altitude before trying something like the Larkya La. Or do both in one trip: on our combined trek, Tsum is the acclimatization for the pass.

The full itinerary is on the Tsum Valley trek page.

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