Our Story
TVHS Treks grew from a simple idea: tourism should serve the people and places it touches.
When Tsum Valley was opened to foreign visitors in 2008—after years of local advocacy—there were no lodges, no teahouses, no trekking maps, and little understanding of how tourism could benefit villagers. Many believed hosting trekkers was “the job of Sherpas,” while others were reluctant to change daily life for outsiders.
With no infrastructure and limited resources, I began by welcoming trekkers into my own home, where they slept on the veranda and shared whatever food my family prepared.
At a time when expensive camping treks brought little benefit to local communities and left behind waste, I introduced the homestay concept—allowing families to host visitors in their existing homes without major investment.
To help travelers understand Tsum, I spent over a year researching and writing the first comprehensive booklet on the valley’s natural and cultural heritage, later published by ICIMOD. This led to a familiarization trek in 2009, the production of a trekking map using local place names, and the valley’s first promotional video.
Slowly, trust grew. By 2010, a few families began offering homestays; others followed by opening tea shops and lodges, improving hygiene and sanitation.
In 2013, I supported the construction of 23 household toilets in Chhokangparo, where only a handful had existed before. From this journey, Tsum Valley Home Stay (TVHS) Treks was formally established—to empower local youth as trekking guides, protect cultural heritage, and ensure tourism remains community-owned.
Tsum Valley Home Stay (TVHS) Treks continues as a locally rooted, community-led trekking initiative from the sacred Tsum Valley of the Nepal Himalayas. Homestay treks are built around living heritage—where traditional homes, cultural landscapes, monasteries, and everyday village life form the heart of the journey.
Even today, we still encourage you to spend at least a few nights in local homestays—to experience what it truly means to live in one of the world’s highest inhabited valleys. When you trek with TVHS, you are not just visiting Tsum Valley—you are supporting its future
Trekking with purpose —supporting Tsum Valley beyond the trail.
When you trek with TVHS Treks, you walk ancient trails, stay in family homes, and share everyday life in one of the world’s highest inhabited valleys. Your journey directly supports local livelihoods, trains village youth as guides, and helps protect Tsum Valley’s living cultural and natural heritage.
