A few more of my favorite faces from Tsum Valley...
Tsum Valley
The Old Monk’s Hands
Mu Gompa, at 3700 meters, is the final outpost of habitation in Tsum Valley. Set on a mountainside about two hours walk beyond the last village, the monastery is home to perhaps 10 monks. It is a spartan and windy place upon the earth. We stayed for a night in the...
Morning in Camp
A man drives two horses out of his field, throwing a rock with dangerous precision. The kerosene stove whirrs in the kitchen tent. Sun tries to work its way over the near mountain. The air is dry and cold. A light wind shuffles the edges of prayer flags....
Horse Festival
Each village in Upper Tsum holds a horse festival where riders are decked out in silky shirts, thick fur-lined jackets, and large round red-tassled hats, carrying old rifles and fluttering banners. The riders start drinking and singing the night before the festival,...
Friendliest Yak Ever
Gettin' (and givin') a little yak love. He let us come up close and pet him, hoping for a bit of salt, but all we had were cameras.
Women’s Traditional Dance
One of my favorite moments: we're all crammed into the space around a huge prayer wheel as local women push endless cups of sake on us and our staff and then do a traditional dance. Video of the women dancing here.
Choedar’s Story
Genchoedar Lama is from the village of Choekam in Tsum Valley. He traveled with us in 2010 and joined our group again this year as we reached Tsum. It's been an honor and a pleasure to travel with Choedar, so I thought I would share a few quotes reflecting themes he...
A Tale of Two Monks
Our first monk is steeped in Tantra. He wants to teach us mantras and meditation and tell stories of Padmasambhava (not to mention the Yeti). He knows all the deities painted on monastery walls and gives us advice for passing smoothly from this life to the next. He...
How To Get Married
If you see a girl you like at a festival or on the trail, prepare a big wooden jug full of Nepali sake and wrap it with a white prayer scarf. Go very secretly (VERY SECRETLY) with your family to meet her family when she is gone to the fields and ask to marry her. If...
Where Buddha’s Teachings Came From
This stone is carved with the mantra Om Mani Padme Hung in both the typical Tibetan and also in Newari (Ranjana/Lantsa). Newari is the language of people indigenous to the Kathmandu Valley, and this alphabet was used in both India and Nepal. It is from this alphabet...
Tsum Valley Trek, Part 2
Tsum Valley is a beyul, a sacred Buddhist valley. Killing is prohibited and small monasteries abound. Monks and teachers from Tibet used to come regularly to the valley, and Buddhism has thrived here. In addition to traditional monasteries, every village has a lineage...
Tsum Valley Trek, Part 1
Tsum Valley is idyllic, the quintessential Shangri-La conjured in Himalayan dreams. Snowy mountains in the distance, women in Tibetan dress harvesting millet or barley in the field, stone houses in small clusters, chortens all along the trail, dozens of small...