Manaslu and Tsum Valley
In March 2018, I set off on the Manaslu Circuit in Nepal with a side trip through Tsum Valley.
Prayer wheels and tablets inscribed with Buddhist mantras dot the trail from village to village. We spin them so that the prayers are heard and the faint clattering joins the sound of bells on mules as they passed, transporting supplies.
Against the backdrop of towering mountains, we feel so small. Every human connection becomes all the more important—whether it’s the young girl whose mother will probably hate you because you gave her chocolate and it’s now all over her face and clothes or the old lady who paused in carrying a heavy basket uphill to give us directions to a swimming hole.
